


Pawn of Complicity

by BronsonL



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-08 04:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14096889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BronsonL/pseuds/BronsonL
Summary: A member of the Five-0 team is kidnapped and Steve and the others find out they will go to any extremes necessary to get one of their own back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I don't own anything that is a proper noun. No copyright infringement intended.

His chiseled jaw clinched as he stood by the full-length window that took up the whole space of his office wall. The ever-changing view of the ocean and brilliant blue sky that would have been mesmerizing to most was lost on Sebastian King. His attention was held by the article on the bottom half of the first page of the Hawaii Tribune Herald that he was reading a third time. Even though he also ingested the daily news supplied by several outlets on the web, he could not bring himself to give up the tactile source of information he had become accustomed to at an early age. Today this paper had helped him formulate an unexpected idea.

The 38-year-old was tall with almost black hair and an ever present five o'clock shadow that gave him a natural ruggedness even though he was dressed in a suave Italian Brioni suit. His eyes were a light teal color that matched the waves that were breaking outside the window. He laid down the paper when his second in command knocked.

"Enter."

After gaining permission, Buck Brennan entered the office. His imposing form took up most of the doorway. King, now staring out the window, turned when Brennan closed the door behind him.

"Five-0 has done it again," King stated as he adjusted his Chopard watch on his wrist. "This time Percy went down… for good."

The two sets of eyes met as Brennan asked, "Are you expecting them to cause you problems with our next job?"

"No. On the contrary, I'm thinking Five-0 may be just what we need for our plan to come to fruition."

Brennan had a puzzled look on his face. King only gave the slightest hint of a smile as he turned and picked up the paper with the article side up and handed it to Brennan. "What do you see?"

Brennan took a moment then answered, "The governor giving the five members of her elite task force commendation medals for bringing down Mr. Percy and his men." Looking up from the paper he was still holding, he said, "I still don't follow, sir."

"I would like to bring Five-0 in as part of _our_ team. Their skills would make this next job a cakewalk."

"What do you have in mind? There's no way they would participate in anything illegal, even for a huge payout."

"You're absolutely right, Buck," King agreed. "But there are things, other than money, that would entice them to join forces with us."

As Brennan looked down again at the photograph adjacent to the article, he began to shake his head in disbelief. "Wouldn't happen."

"Yes… it would. It will. We are going to take one of their team as leverage. It is well known that they are a tight group and even call themselves 'ohana'. It will work."

Brennan had a skeptical look, but relented. "OK, which one?"

With a wave of his hand and making his way to his chair behind his desk, King replied dismissively, "It really doesn't matter. I thought it might be easier to manage Officer Kalakaua."

"You're probably right. I'll get the guys on checking out everything we can find on her right away. Anything else?"

"No, just remember how important this job is. We can't mess this up. It's going to take precision and I'm counting on you, Buck. Get to work and keep me informed."

"Yes, Mr. King." At that, Brennan exited the room.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Brennan was parked across the road when he saw the red Chevy Cruze, with a surfboard rack on top, pull out of The Palace parking lot. Brennan carefully entered the flow of traffic and followed behind with one car between them. He maintained this position until the car he was following made an unexpected left turn.

"What the hell?" he mumbled to himself.

He also turned so as not to lose the car but decided he needed to act a bit sooner than expected to keep control of the situation. He reached down and flipped the switch to turn on the cell phone and radio signal jamming device. He knew he had to stay within 100 feet to effectively sustain the jamming of the signal. He pushed down the gas pedal to gain speed and passed the car in front of him and ran up close to the Cruze's bumper. He then backed off and then repeated the action in an antagonistic fashion, revving his engine each time. Brennan knew he had been spotted because the car in front of him began breaking and slowing.

He wanted to make a statement so when the way was clear, but not by much, Brennan darted out to the left and sped around the car accelerating quickly. Brennan barely missed a work truck and motorcycle coming from the other direction earning him a honk from the truck and a finger gesture from the biker.

Looking in his rearview mirror, Brennan was rewarded with his mark turning on the flashing blue lights and accelerating in pursuit, noticing also that the distance between the two vehicles seemed to be well within the required jamming range. He didn't have to hold back his speed as the red car was almost on his bumper.

It didn't take long to get back on track with the predetermined route. They were getting farther and farther outside of town and there was less and less traffic, and witnesses, to deal with. Brennan couldn't help but to smile as he looked again into his rearview mirror. They were nearing the ultimate destination and he just hoped that the van would be in position and ready. Unfortunately, he was unable to use his own phone to contact Jacobs and Dexter to confirm their position, but it was a necessary hindrance. Mr. King would not be happy if anyone involved in the operation didn't come through on his end, so he felt secure they would be there.

Coming upon the intersection, Brennan could see the dark green van where it was supposed to be, parked on the road running perpendicular to his left. At this point, there were no other cars around, as they had made it to a secluded rural area. He exhaled deeply as he realized he had been holding in stress of the car chase and the anticipated confrontation. As soon as he passed in front of the van, he saw it quickly pull out in front of the chasing car, causing the Cruze to suddenly veer to the right and impact a large wooden wildlife reserve entrance sign that was on the side of the road. He brought his car to a grinding halt, pulling to the right himself, half blocking the lane in which he had been traveling.

Brennan jumped out of his car, gun drawn, and headed to the driver side of the car. He didn't pause as he looked over to see Jacobs and Dexter also exit the van at the same time. He could see Dexter heading to the back of the van and Jacobs following Brennan's lead as he motioned for him to head to the rear of the vehicle. Brennan made it to the driver door and grabbed the handle to pull it open. He abruptly stopped with the door half open and his jaw dropped at what he saw.

"Oh, shit."

* * *

  _~to be continued~_

 

\,,,/


	2. Chapter 2

Earlier that day, Steve, followed by Danny, rounded the corner and opened the glass doors to enter the main area of the Five-0 headquarters office. Steve headed toward his office as he was going to continue working on the Percy case paperwork. The team had been working almost around the clock for weeks to bring down the head of the arms trafficking syndicate.

Devin Percy and his crew had evaded capture by law enforcement for years. Percy had grown his dynasty from gambling and prostitution to drugs. Now, twenty years later and a move from the mainland to paradise, he was on the FBI's most wanted list for dealing in international gunrunning. The older man had created many factions of his empire over the years, each with its own "crime lord wannabe" that he had groomed himself. However, in the last couple of years, cooperation amongst several law enforcement agencies and years of diligence had brought about the downfall of each of these factions, one at a time, minus one… unbeknownst to them.

After the accolades from the governor and press, Five-0 was looking forward to some down time to refresh for the next case.

"Wait, where are you headed?" Danny questioned as Steve didn't look back because he wanted to get to the paperwork to get it finished. "You didn't let me make my point."

Steve stopped and turned around. Looking somewhat annoyed, he put his hands on his hips, let his shoulders drop, and cocked his head slightly to the right. "Okay... make your point."

"Okay... thank you." Danny lifted his eyebrows as he bent slightly to the right at the waist bringing both hands down at the same time as if throwing an unseen object to the ground. "As I was saying, before I was rudely ignored, I just think that if I'm using _my_ car in these takedowns then it should be a top priority of the state to get it back to top condition when it gets damaged. We're putting our lives on the line to bring down the baddies. The least they could do is put it first in their queue of vehicles to repair. The scheduled oil changes and wiper replacements can wait."

"Danny, it's not that bad."

"Wait, what? 'Not that bad?' Did you see the same car? I drive the Camaro, remember? Well, actually _you_ drive the Camaro but all the more reason you should get on this. Percy's men weren't using airsoft guns you know. They were the real things, Steven. You'd think your Army training would have taught you that."

Steve rolled his eyes, turned around and mumbled, "Navy, Danny... Navy."

"Whatever, and once again you're avoiding the subject... my car?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay. I'll call them to see when they can get to it. Will that make you feel better?" Steve asked as he waved his hand in the air as he walked toward his office.

"It's the least you can do!" Danny raised his voice knowing the attempt at getting a rise was lost on his partner.

Chin and Kono walked in and realized they had just interrupted an intense moment between the two men. "What's going on, guys? I thought we were winding down," Kono said as she directed her attention toward Danny since Steve had already made it into his office and closed the door.

"Big boss man in there is going to make a call to get my car moved to the front of the line for repair. But... that still leaves me without a way to pick up Grace after school." Danny pulled out his phone. "I'll call Rachel and see if she can get her this time. Do you think you could give me a ride home, Kono? I'd ask him," putting his thumb up pointing into Steve's office, "but you know..."

"No prob, brah. In fact, I'll do you one better." Kono glanced at Chin for approval. "I'll catch a ride home with Chin and you can use my car and still get to pick up Grace." Chin smiled and nodded his acceptance.

Danny walked up to Kono and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Thanks, beautiful. I owe you one. I sure have missed my monkey and little man these last few weeks. I'd have been disappointed to have to wait to see them yet again. Thanks, Chin."

"Here are the keys." Danny reached out to take them but she pulled her hand back at the last second leaving his hand hanging in mid-air. "And I want it returned in the same condition it's in now... unlike your Camaro, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am, but that wasn't my fault. Blame gung-ho Super SEAL over there." Danny said with a smile and took the keys that were being offered once again.

"And give Grace and Charlie a hug from Auntie Kono."

"And one from Uncle Chin, too," Chin added as he headed toward his office, Kono following behind him.

Danny headed for the door leading to the corridor when he literally ran into Lou who was walking in. "Whoa, where are you off to in such a hurry? I thought we were getting our reports done so we can relax a bit."

"I thought that was the plan, too." Steve had reappeared from his office and was now leaning against the doorframe arms folded over his chest.

"Look, Steve, I'll come in early tomorrow and get mine done then. As soon as she's done with cheer practice, I have a date with the most beautiful and intriguing girl on the planet and her gallant and impressive little brother." Danny raised his eyebrows with a bit of a puppy dog face in anticipation of his reply.

As much as Steve thought better of it, he was too tired for one of their bantering sessions. He just smiled in defeat and said, "Have a good time and try to get some rest later. You've got an early morning ahead of you."

Invigorated, Danny smiled and turned, stepped around Lou and yelled out, "See you guys tomorrow!" as he threw up his hand as a goodbye wave at no one in particular and was out the door jingling the keys in his other hand as he went.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Danny pulled out of the lot in Kono's red Chevy Cruze. He was anxious to get to Grace's school. He was hoping he would be early enough to catch some of her cheerleading practice before taking her to pick up Charlie to take them to dinner. Danny was going to try to talk Grace into Charlie's favorite, Chuck E. Cheese, but didn't know how that would go over. She was growing up on him.

He would be seeing them this weekend but since his time had been taken up so much by work lately, Rachel thought it would be a good idea for him to fit in a little extra time with his kids, and truth be told, it had been a help for her today as her schedule was busy too.

Danny didn't see the black sedan pull out after him. It wasn't until he heard the revving of the engine of the car behind him, that he looked in the rear-view mirror and saw the car getting dangerously close to touching his rear bumper. _Really, you don't want to do this, buddy._ He thought to himself. Danny slowed, hoping this would cause the car to back off. Soon after, he saw the car dart out to pass him almost hitting cars in the other lane. It was going well over the speed limit causing a danger to him and other motorists on the road. He also knew they were nearing Grace's school and he could not have this _idiot_ cause a child to get hurt.

"Damn it. I don't need this today."

He flipped on the blue lights and increased his speed as well. He briefly recalled his promise to Kono to return her car in the same condition. He hoped he could do that. The chase took him away from the school area but at this point, he was committed. _This guy is going down._

He hit the call button on his steering wheel to contact HPD for backup but the call didn't go through. He then picked up his phone to try but found he still couldn't make a call. Finally, he tried the police radio... only static. "That's odd." He tried the phone again but when the call failed yet again, he shrugged and laid the phone in the seat next to him and continued the chase, determined not to lose the car. "I guess I'm on my own here. This would be right up Steve's alley."

The cars were getting farther away from civilization. Danny huffed out of frustration. _Okay, this guy is starting to royally piss me off._ He was not going to be able to catch cheerleading practice like he had hoped. He was starting to wonder if he was going to make it back in time to pick Grace up at the scheduled time. He checked his phone again… he needed to call Rachel, Steve, or someone to get her. Again, there was no signal.

He had just about decided to call off the chase when a van darted into his path making him veer to the right. He successfully avoided the van but it was too late when he saw the giant wooden sign that he could not keep from hitting. The car crashed into the sign and the airbag deployed. At the same time, Danny's head hit the side window. His vision grayed but he was able to hold on to consciousness. With his car at rest now, he blinked and shook his head hoping to get his bearings and immediately dreaded the inevitable conversation he would have to have with Kono.

Danny didn't see the man approach his car but he felt the car door jerk open. He looked to the left to see a gun trained at his head and heard the man exclaim, "Oh, shit!"

"Uh, I think that's supposed to be my line. What's going on?"

Brennan had to get it together fast. "Get out of the car," he huffed at Danny. Danny raised his hands in submission and climbed out of the car.

"You're not Kalakaua."

"I hope not or I put on the wrong outfit this morning," Danny snarked back sarcastically.

"Alright, smart ass, you'll have to do. Hand over your gun… slow and steady."

Without taking his eyes off the eyes of his antagonist, Danny eased his right arm down and slowly removed his P30 out of its holster and handed the gun over.

"Okay, now take out your handcuffs and hook it to one of your wrists."

This was starting to get out of hand now. Again, with the same hand, Danny reached behind him and took out his handcuffs. He attached one side to his right arm but decided if he was going to make a move it would have to be now. He just hoped the instant of surprise would provide the slight advantage that would be necessary. He took the metal loop of the other cuff in his fist and he swung with as much force as he could muster, striking Brennan right below his eye socket on his left cheek. Brennan's body swung to the side as Danny grabbed the hand with the gun in both of his hands and pushed the gun toward the sky. He then threw his knee as hard as he could into the imposing man's groin area. The man instantly grunted and bent over in misery. Danny sensed he was gaining an upper hand when another, previously unseen attacker came up beside him and struck him on his left temple with the butt of his gun.

That was all it took. Danny was able to break his fall with his arms as his body hit the pavement but he couldn't fight off the darkness long enough to attempt a return to his feet, much less continue his fight to defend himself. He dropped from his forearms to his stomach and he was out.

* * *

 

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/


	3. Chapter 3

Steve was still sitting in his office, his head resting against his fist with his elbow on the desk. His pen was moving in his other hand filling out the last of the required forms. Lou, Chin, and Kono had left a little while before to get something to eat before heading home. They had invited him, but he wanted to finish up while the case was still fresh on his mind.

His phone rang and he looked down at the name of the incoming caller and was surprised to see Rachel's name. "Hey Rachel, how's it going?"

Rachel didn't answer his question. "Steve, is Danny there?"

Steve laid down his pen and looked up from his papers giving Rachel his full attention. "No, he picked up Grace from cheer practice then he was going to your house to get Charlie. He was taking the kids to dinner tonight." Steve spoke as though it was a foregone conclusion that Danny had accomplished what he had set out to do. He inwardly scolded himself when he realized he was acting as if _he_ was the one informing Rachel of the plans.

"I just got a call from Grace. He never made it to the school. Charlie and I are on our way to get her now. I've been trying to reach him on his cell but it goes straight to voicemail."

Steve could tell Rachel was pretending to be unconcerned. However, he could hear something off about her voice. Steve was now standing behind his desk one hand on his hip. "Look, Rachel, I'm sure everything is fine. He was in Kono's car so maybe Grace didn't see him." He lifted his hand off his hip and turned his palm up. His lips curved down expressing that what he had just offered her could be a viable excuse. He wanted to reassure Rachel but he was also utilizing her as a sounding board to get himself to the conclusion he needed.

"No, he had texted her that he would be in that car. She was looking for it. He never showed up."

"Okay…" Steve paused, lowered his head, and closed his eyes. With his thumb on the side of his head, he rubbed his forehead with his index and middle fingers as he thought. "Let me make some calls of my own and I'll get back with you. Don't worry, Rachel, I'm sure everything is fine," Steve lied. An uneasy feeling continued to nag at Steve. Danny would not let anything keep him from his plans with the kids.

He disconnected the call and started to call Danny's phone but before he could, his phone began to ring again. This time it was Kono.

"Kono?"

"Boss, I just got off the phone with Duke." She sounded upset. "He called me because HPD has found my car… it had been in an accident and was… abandoned."

"Damn!"

"What is it...? Steve, what do you know?" Kono inquired, her concern growing.

"I just talked to Rachel. She said Danny never showed up to get Grace at school and she can't reach him. Where did they find the car?"

"The car was several miles from here in a rural area heading north. He had hit one of those large wildlife reserve signs. Car's in pretty bad shape. Steve, that's a long way from the school. What was he doing there?"

Steve had grabbed his keys and was already heading out of the office. "I'm not sure, Kono, but I'm going to find out. Send me the coordinates and then call Chin and Lou and meet me there. I was just getting ready to try calling his phone myself. Let me call you back."

"Okay, but I've already tried and can't reach him… no answer," Kono stated dejectedly. "I'm with Chin and we're headed that way now. I'll call Lou next. CSU was in route when I talked to Duke. Maybe they'll have something by the time we get there."

"Thanks, Kono. If you hear _anything_ else let me know." Steve disconnected the line and immediately hit Danny's number. He was already expecting the outcome but he had to try. He had to do _something_. By now, Steve had already made it to his truck and was climbing in. Like Rachel's and Kono's results, the call immediately went to voicemail. "Damn it, Danno, where are you?"

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Sebastian King was in his study nursing his nightly Evan Williams White Label bourbon on the rocks, when his phone rang. "What do you have for me, Buck?"

Hesitantly, Brennan replied, "Things didn't go as planned." He paused to allow his boss to express his frustration before continuing. Unexpectedly, King didn't say anything. Brennan just heard a deep sigh from the other end of the phone so he continued, "We didn't get the girl."

Now King decided to speak, "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Don't worry, boss. We still got one of 'em."

Again King exhaled deeply, but this time out of relief and not frustration. "Okay, so, did you have any problems? Any witnesses?"

"No witnesses. We got away clean but he didn't go easy... put up a fight. I'm going to need to pay him back for that one," he added.

"Who was it... McGarrett?" King asked.

"No, the little one... smart mouth from Jersey."

"Detective Williams." King smiled. _Second in command...this may be just as good...or better. "_ Okay, Buck, just stick with the original plan for now. I'll be in touch."

"Will do, Mr. King. We'll take good care of the detective," the sarcasm seeping through his words. With that they ended the call.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

The Silverado screeched to a halt at the site of the accident. Steve saw that Chin's Mustang was already there and Lou pulled up shortly behind him. He lifted the yellow tape that circled the area and held it up for Lou and himself. They both walked over to join Chin. Kono was on the other side of her car talking to one of the crime scene investigators.

With hands on his hips, Steve turned to get a quick 360-degree bearing on the surroundings, as if he would see something that would immediately lead him to his partner. He came to his senses and asked anxiously, "Okay Chin, what have you found out?"

"Follow me, I want to show you something." Chin approached the front driver's side of the car and squatted down. He pointed at tire tracks that were obviously not from Kono's car. Steve squatted beside Chin and Lou bent over with his hands on his knees to see what Chin was pointing out. "It looks like there was another vehicle involved. CSU has taken photos and are sending those to the forensics lab to see if they can narrow down what type of vehicle we're looking at."

"Hey guys, we've got something over here." Kono yelled in their direction. The men stood and headed to the other side of the car. Kono made direct eye contact with Steve as she reluctantly reached him what CSU had found in the passenger seat. CSU had already bagged the contents to protect the evidence from contamination, increasing the chances of finding prints, hair, fibers, or anything that could help. "It's Danny's badge and gun."

Steve took the items from Kono and studied the contents of the bags. "So… he didn't just wander away. These were left here on purpose. Somebody's got him." The silence from the others confirmed they had deduced the same thing.

Trying to both squelch his anger _and_ mask his emotions by staying on the task at hand, Steve spoke up first. "Alright, we'll let CSU finish up here." He turned and handed the bags to one of the investigators. "This is top priority."

The investigator felt the gravity of the request emanating off the commander. He nodded and assured him, "Yes, sir. We'll get right on it."

"Let's get back to headquarters. We've got work to do."

Chin and Kono shared a knowing glance. They knew their friend and colleague and the tight bond he and Danny shared. They understood that even though he put on his tough SEAL exterior, this was eating away at him inside.

Steve was headed toward his truck when Chin put his hand on his shoulder to stop him. Steve turned to face him, worry written all over his face. With his soft, steady voice, Chin offered some consolation, "Steve, we'll get him back."

Aware that there was no other acceptable outcome, Steve's only reply was a simple nonverbal nod of affirmation and he turned back toward his truck. Inside, he allowed himself a couple of seconds just gripping the steering wheel in the silence before he started his truck and headed back to The Palace.

The light of the day was dimming, echoing the feeling of trepidation the whole Five-0 team was experiencing.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Danny regained consciousness slowly. Even though his eyes remained closed, he could feel that he was lying on his side on the floor of a moving vehicle, probably a van or box truck. Every now and then they would hit a pothole so he knew the road had to be rarely used. Based on that, he assumed he was still in a rural area. He didn't know how long he had been out, but maybe it wasn't as long as what it seemed.

He could feel his arms were drawn behind his back, wrists firmly held by his own handcuffs. He could feel the still wet track of blood down the side of his face and he had a throbbing headache like he had never had before, probably some from the effects of hitting the window in the crash, but he was sure mostly from the hit he took from the butt of his attacker's gun. He deliberated over feigning continued unconsciousness but decided he would never be able to stay motionless so he capitulated and opened his eyes. In the dim light, he could make out the dirty work boots and ragged bottoms of jeans of someone that sat adjacent to his limp body.

He knew his next act would give him away but he didn't care. He tried to move to a more comfortable position, which resulted in him involuntarily emitting a low groan.

Dexter's attention was drawn to their captive. "He's waking up, boss!"

"Knew he would. Just make him behave," was Brennan's reply coming from the driver's seat.

Dexter looked back at Danny. Danny rose up to rest his upper body on one elbow so he could get a better perspective of his surroundings and take inventory. _Van, definitely. Two goons. Not sure how many weapons. Again, on his own. This somehow had to be Steve's fault._

"Shouldn't I at least be wined and dined before you take me back to your place?" Danny was able to mumble to the man that rode in the back with him.

Dexter kicked Danny hard in the abdomen with his heavy work boot. Danny let out a yell at the same time the air was knocked out of him. He fell off his elbow back to the floor. Since he didn't have the use of his arms, he pulled his legs up toward his stomach to get some relief. His eyes squeezed together tightly as he waited out the wave of pain. When the worst had passed, he couldn't help himself. He smiled up at his attacker and goaded, "Don't know about you but where I'm from we shake hands when we meet someone."

"Smartass." Once again Danny's mouth earned him three punches to the face.

Danny felt his lip split open and he could taste the metallic blood in his mouth. His headache once again intensified and he silently vilified himself for not being able to keep his mouth quiet. He spat out a mouthful of blood and saliva onto the floor of the van and rolled as far as he could on his back as his restrained arms would let him.

"What's going on back there?!" Brennan shouted out.

"No problems. Just making him behave… like you said." Dexter glowered down at Danny and then whispered so only Danny could hear, "If you don't shut your trap, I'll have to shut it for you." He held up a long, thick piece of cloth for Danny to see and Danny instantly knew it was a threat to gag him. Danny rolled his eyes in resignation, laid his head against the floor, and willed himself to be quiet, at least for now.

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/

* * *

 


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

Jacobs had taken over the position of driving the black sedan from Brennan. He headed in the opposite direction of Brennan and Dexter's destination, back towards Honolulu. Already dressed in the appropriate attire, he pulled into the crowded parking lot of the Honolulu Metropolitan Art Museum. The gala, in celebration of the arrival and opening of the much-anticipated traveling exhibit, had been under way for a while. Once stopped, Jacobs sat in the quiet car and pulled out his cell phone and made the call to Sebastian King. In his other hand, in a nervous habit, he used his thumb to turn Detective Williams' powered-off phone over and over in his palm.

"Jacobs?" was the answer he heard from King.

"Yes, Mr. King. I've arrived and have the phone. Have they gotten the passcode yet?"

"I'm on my way there now. I'll get back with you soon. Just sit tight for now. I'll be in touch."

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Danny felt and heard the rumble of gravel under the tires. The van slowed to a stop and he could hear an overhead door being pulled up. The van crept forward a bit more and this time stopped for good. The overhead door rolled closed. The back doors of the van swung open. Dexter jumped out and he and Brennan each grabbed one of Danny's arms and pulled him out of the van and into the warehouse. Danny winced and appealed, "Easy there, guys, you're gonna mess the hair." At the comment, the men jerked him in the direction they wanted to go. They led Danny to an empty cinder-block room and pushed him down into the lone chair in the room.

Brennan pulled out his phone and rocked it back and forth in front of Danny. He then leaned over and looked at him right in the face. "Showtime, pig. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to tell your commander, on camera, that you're okay and then tell him he'd better cooperate with our demands... or else."

Danny looked from the phone to Brennan. He felt compelled to respond to the prompt that had been laid out for him so easily. "Or else what?"

"Or else it's the end of the line for you," Brennan smiled.

Danny jutted out his bloodied, bottom lip and nodded, affirming he had known that retort was coming. He had gotten one answer, though not the helpful kind. He decided to try for more anyway. "Look, what is all of this about anyway? Who are you guys and what are these... 'demands'?" If Danny could have used his hands, he would have used air quotes. Having so many unanswered questions was beginning to irk him.

"None of your business, now just do the video."

"Okay... okay, sure, I'll do your little video." Dexter was standing just behind and to the side of Brennan. They were both somewhat taken aback that Danny had relented so easily. They had expected more of a fight from their fiery captive. Brennan nodded to Dexter and both men took out and put on ski masks. Brennan flipped on the video camera and started recording. Danny sat up straighter in the chair and began, "Um, hey Steve. Looks like I'll be a little late for work tomorrow. Just got a little tied up." Danny displayed a small grin, proud of his own wit. "Well anyway, I'm okay and uh, as far as their demands go… whatever the hell they are..." there was a long pause as Danny looked to the floor then looked back to the phone in Brennan's hand, "you better _NOT_ give in to these assholes, no matter what, Steve. Do you hear m...?"

The reason for Danny's cooperation was revealed. His last declaration of defiance was met with a blow to the gut by Dexter's fist. Danny doubled over in pain but had no time for recovery when Dexter jerked him up by the hair and grabbed at his shirt. He ripped open the bottom buttons exposing his abdomen. Danny was then hit with the full force of a stun gun applied directly to his bare skin for several seconds. "AAAHHH!" Danny screamed out. He closed his eyes tightly and his body involuntarily hunched over and began to convulse. Dexter pushed on Danny's left shoulder and it didn't take much for him to fall out of the chair and onto the hard, cold floor. The spasms rolling through his muscles slowly subsided.

Brennan had been recording the whole time, but when Danny was finally left motionless, he shut off the recording. Brennan started to exit the room, when Dexter grabbed his upper arm to stop him. "What about the passcode?"

Brennan glared at Dexter and forcefully removed Dexter's hand from his arm, clamping down on his fingers to make his point. "Do not… touch me. Look at him," throwing his glance and chin in Danny's direction. "He can't tell us anything right now. King's on his way. We'll give smart mouth a minute to recover and then let the boss in on some of the fun." Both men exited the room and left Danny lying on the floor in agony.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

On his way back to headquarters from the accident site, Steve had made his promised phone call to Rachel. She had seemed to have taken the news well but Steve believed it was just a pretense, probably from the years of being a policeman's wife. She was going to pass her apologies on to the kids and tell them their dad had been abruptly called away on a secret assignment. She didn't want to worry them needlessly if it could be avoided.

"Rachel, I promise, those kids are _not_ going to lose their Danno. We _are_ going to get him back." Even though Steve believed what he was saying, he felt an apprehensive chill run down his spine as he heard himself use the word "promise". He, however, went on to pledge to keep her in the loop and ended the call.

The team began the task of gathering all the information they could to help find the missing member of their family. Kono was going through traffic video and found a nugget of hope. "Guys, I've found something. Come check this out." The rest of the team dropped what they were doing and gathered around the smart table as Kono sent the video images to the large screen. The video footage showed her car leaving The Palace and she pointed out the black car pulling out right after. From two other video feeds, they saw the same car, at first two cars behind Danny, and then later, directly behind him. The car had made every turn that Danny had made. They didn't have footage of the car passing Danny, but the last one showed the Cruze, obviously in pursuit of the black sedan, with the blue lights activated.

"Why would he not call that in?" Lou questioned.

"I'm not sure, Lou. That's a good question," Chin stated as he rested his jaw on his fist in thought.

Lou's phone started to ring and he stepped away from the group to answer it.

Leaning on the table, Steve added, "He would have. He always calls in for backup. Something must have prevented it."

"… like a jamming device." Chin pointed at Steve, acknowledging his assistance in getting to this conclusion. "This was well thought out," he surmised. "And what about motive, why would anyone want to take Danny? So far, we've heard nothing about a ransom or demands. Do you think someone has a grudge against him?"

"They were after Kono," Steve quietly stated, almost in a whisper. "They weren't after Danny. They were after Kono. They thought they were following you, in your car." Steve was now directing his comments toward Kono, his voice rising as he became more confident in the conclusion he was making.

"Steve's right. Kono, can you think of anything... anyone that might have an issue with you? Wait, it can't be personal. They wouldn't have taken Danny upon finding they had the wrong person. I think someone is wanting to get at Five-0," Chin proposed.

"Kono, can we get a clear shot of the plate or maybe even the driver's face to run through facial rec?" Steve asked.

"The plate was stolen off another car. I don't think we can use facial recognition. The driver was wearing sunglasses and a ball cap. I'll send it over to the lab in case they can clean it up and get more details for us."

Lou had just gotten off the phone with the head of the crime scene unit that investigated the site of the crash. He rejoined the rest of the team. "CSU says they did not get any prints besides Kono's and Danny's but based on the tracks, there was a _third_ vehicle at the site. They cannot conclusively determine make and model of either of the two unknown vehicles, but they believe one to be a car and the other, a larger vehicle, like a work truck or van." Lou paused before continuing. "They also found a blood sample on the ground outside the car... Danny's."

The words hung in the air and the countenance of each person's face dropped a bit. They were not surprised by the revelation but it seemed as if each piece of news that was brought to light was working against them. It was late and the team was tired but they pressed on. Still standing at the smart table, Steve scrubbed the back of his neck with his hand as he was lost in his thoughts. _What am I missing? There's got to be something._

Just then, Steve's message alert beeped on his phone. He looked at the ID and the others saw the color drain from his face. He looked up at his team members. "It's from Danny..."

_~to be continued~_

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	5. Chapter 5

King walked into the warehouse, his designer shoes "clicking" on the concrete slab. He acknowledged Dexter with a half-smile and nod but turned his attention to Brennan. "So, where are we at with the detective?"

"We've got a video, not exactly what we had in mind but the way it played out, it may work. We just don't have the passcode yet… wasn't in a condition to give it." Brennan handed over the phone with the video ready to play. King took the few moments to watch it all with no expression. He handed the phone back to Brennan.

Knowing exactly where he was going, he placed his hands in his pockets and walked toward the room that held Danny. Before entering, he grabbed the chair that sat outside the door of the room and drug it behind him as he entered. He placed the chair across from the other one in the room and waved his hand to his lackeys to help Danny back into the chair. After taking a seat in the chair he had brought in, he crossed his legs and then casually crossed and rested his forearms on his knee. He watched as Danny was hauled up and placed in front of him.

Danny's body ached all over, his head pounded, and he was exhausted. He wouldn't have minded if they had just left him on the ground. He would have closed his eyes and shut everything out for as long as he could, maybe even getting some sleep if he were fortunate enough. But these _idiots_ had other plans. When he felt himself being lifted off the floor by both of his arms, he clinched his teeth and held back a moan as best as he could. He was _not_ going to give them any satisfaction.

He was back in the chair again. He raised his head up and lifted his gaze to see a new face in front of him. From his designer business attire and his indifferent expression, he could tell this guy was in a different league from the other two... _the main man_?

King finished nonchalantly inspecting the cuticles on one of his hands and then led off, "Detective Williams, I'm sorry you've been put in this position. The accommodations are necessary for now."

Danny made a valiant effort to fight against his fatigue. He tilted his head to the side and stuck out his bottom lip. He considered a sarcastic comment in response to King's chosen word "accommodations" but decided he'd rather get answers first. "Okay… okay. So... who the hell are _you_ and what is this all about?" He didn't expect, or like, the low, raspy sound of his own voice.

"Who I am is not important and I... well let's just say I need the assistance of our governor's elite task force. Your team has definitely made a name for itself."

"Yeah, it's Five-0 and if you need help from law enforcement, why don't you do what everyone else in this country does and try 911 first."

"There's that wise ass mouth I've heard about." King displayed a small closed mouth grin and took a moment to study the man in front of him. He allowed himself a moment of admiration for the detective's recalcitrant attitude. "Anyway, we are hoping you can help us. We had thought Officer Kalakaua would be the one gracing us with her presence, but no matter, one's as good as another. We're getting ready to contact your team using your phone and we need your passcode, please." King spoke very matter-of-factly.

"Screw you."

King released a small, exasperated huff. "Detective, please don't make this any harder on yourself than it needs to be. We would appreciate your cooperation."

 _I would love to wipe that smug smile off your face._ Danny chose to keep his thoughts to himself and not respond. He just glared at King with his blue eyes.

King calmly stood and walked behind the chair he had been sitting in and placed his hands on the backrest. "I can call my man in with the stun gun again." He looked to the door and motioned with his fingers for Dexter to enter.

Danny tensed at the thought of that and said, "Alright, alright. You may want to write this down." When King made no movement, Danny continued, "Well, okay then, it's 1 1 ... F U."

King gave a large smile this time, genuinely impressed. "Nice." He stood up straight and folded his arms over his chest. "You may want to rethink your response though. I think you'd be very upset if anything were to happen to a cute little teenager named Grace. And oh yeah, I think she has a cute little brother too, Charlie, is it?"

Danny's blood began to boil and he bolted out of his chair toward King with as much strength as he could summon only to be pushed back down by a strong hand on his shoulder. He had noticed Dexter entering the room at King's command and taking a position behind Danny's chair, but he didn't care.

He didn't know what he thought he could accomplish by the attempted attack, but his body was acting involuntarily from the adrenaline rush caused by the implied threat to his kids. "I will personally rip both of your arms off and shove them down your throat if you lay one finger..." he growled out slowly through his clinched jaw.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Detective," King interrupted and dismissed the threat with a wave of his hand. "Now... do you have a different answer?"

Danny's only priority was the safety of his children. He hesitated in thought and then relented, "5 0 5 0."

King's eyes narrowed and his brow creased in annoyance. "You're kidding, right? Are you sure you want to do that again?"

Danny hung his head despondently. "Not kidding."

"Wow… okay..." King took out his phone, pushed a button, and put the phone to his ear. "Try 5, 0, 5, 0. Yes, that's right. Try it… good. I'll send you the link. You know what to do."

King disconnected the call and put his phone away. "Good job, Detective, wise decision." With that, King strode out of the room.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Jacobs received the video link from King. He got out of his car and walked into the foyer of the museum. Tipsy partygoers were beginning to leave the event but it was still crowded inside. He blended right in with the revelers. Most of the attention of the individually formed groups of people were on the socializing and drinking. The presence of the new exhibit was a mere backdrop and excuse for celebration.

Jacobs made his way to a darkened side of the building, into one of the display halls away from the other partygoers. Except for one couple that quickly left when he entered, he was all alone. He decided to use a sculpture that had been on display at this museum for years. He stood near the work of art and took out the phones. Now that he could access Detective William's phone, he would have his number and the numbers of all the Five-0 team. He understood that now that the phone was powered on, he would have to act quickly. He would have to send the video to the detective's phone, then from his to Commander McGarrett, leave the phone, and get out of there fast... and he did just that. The phone was left on the pedestal behind the sculpture, out of sight, and no one seemed to notice him as he left.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

"It's from Danny..." Steve's stomach felt like it flipped over inside his body. Feelings of dread and optimism wrestled with each other. The rest of the team froze in anticipation. He opened the message to see a video ready to play. He touched the button to start the video not taking the time to send it to the big screen. He could do that later.

Steve was overtaken by anguish over the image he saw and he let out a long sigh and felt his heart start to beat faster. He could tell that even before they had begun to record the video, Danny had been through a lot. His arms were restrained behind him, _Danny would hate that_ , and just from what he could see, Danny looked awful. There was blood that had dried on the side of his face and around his mouth and there were severe bruises that had formed around his eyes with one eye slightly swollen. He wondered what other injuries were hidden from his view. "No... no… Danny... damn it," Steve spoke out loud. Was he really frustrated with his partner right now? _Just cooperate. Help yourself out a little._ He knew that wasn't like his obdurate partner, he would fight back to the end, but he couldn't help thinking it.

When the video finished, he looked up to his team who had heard the sound but had not yet seen what Steve had seen. He handed his phone to Chin who then sent it to the large screen for everyone to view. Chin felt anger building inside him as he calmly watched with his arms crossed over his chest. Kono bit down on her index finger to help control all the emotions she was feeling. It helped Lou to place one hand on his gun in its holster and ball his other hand into a tight fist. Steve closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as the video completed, the second time for him.

The only answer the video provided was that their family member was alive, or at least he was when the video was made. There were still no demands. They were left waiting, once again.

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Because the message had come from Danny's phone, Chin immediately started to run a trace on it, an action they had tried several times before with a failed result.

"The phone needed to be powered on for a trace. Let's see if we can get anything now." Chin's always calm and steady voice was reassuring to the rest of the team.

In contrast, Lou grunted out, "If I could get my hands on those guys right now, they'd be sorry they even woke up this morning."

"I'm with you, Lou," Kono agreed.

"Steve, I've got something. Looks like the phone is still on and its location right now is..." a long pause followed as he looked up at the other team members, "the Metro Art Museum?" The statement ended as a question at the oddity of the location.

"Let's go." Steve didn't care where they were headed. He was just thankful they had a semblance of a lead. They quickly geared up and were headed out the door. Steve had his phone to his ear on his way out, calling Sergeant Duke Lukela to have HPD meet them there.

On the way, Kono found out and informed the others that there was a black tie gala going on at the museum that night. It was nearing midnight, almost the next day now. Danny had been gone for over eight hours.

As they pulled into the parking area, they noticed there were only a few cars remaining. It was obvious the party was winding down. They went in with guns drawn, knowing they would have to be wary of innocent and unaware civilians that were present. The museum's hired security guards were taken aback for a moment and stood in the way of the team. Steve flashed his badge at them and identified themselves, "Five-0. Who's in charge here?"

A woman in a yellow evening gown walked up at that time before the guard could answer. "Gentlemen... and lady," as the stolid curator, Shaina Woods, nodded and smiled towards Kono, "I'm Shaina Woods, the curator here. What can I do for you? What is going on?"

Everything seemed innocuous at the museum with no immediate threat. Kono lowered her weapon and pulled out her phone. It took the others a bit longer before they lowered their weapons but they all stayed at the ready.

Pointing his gloved hand in her direction, Steve told Ms. Woods, "We apologize for the show of force. We don't want to alarm anyone, but we are looking for someone that was at the party tonight."

"... and could still be," Lou interjected.

Steve continued, "We'd appreciate it if no one else would leave the premises." She knew it wasn't a request.

"Of course, whatever you need. How can I help?"

Steve ignored her question when after Kono dialed Danny's number and a brief pause, they heard the faint buzzing sound coming from the adjacent hall. HPD had arrived by now and Duke and a couple more officers joined the team inside. More cruisers were stationed outside.

His gun raised again, Steve was the first to enter the empty room. He followed the buzzing sound to a sculpture sitting to the side. Danny's phone was lying on the pedestal behind the artwork, no one in sight. Lou reached a forensics evidence bag to him and with his gloved hand, he carefully bagged the phone so as not to destroy any potential evidence. Chin and Kono checked each shadowed corner to be sure nothing obvious was missed.

Steve turned to Ms. Woods who had followed them into the room. "We're going to need access to all of the footage from your security cameras. We also need to talk to everyone that is still left and we're going to need a list of all attendees and invitees."

Ms. Woods nodded her acceptance of his requests. "Yes, of course, we'll provide you with whatever you need."

"Duke, cordon off the area and get CSU down here. I don't want anything missed."

"Got it." Duke turned and commenced radioing in Steve's orders.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Hours later, Danny awoke. He was now lying on a cot with a thin wool blanket and small striped-ticking pillow.

He remembered being taken to this different room in the same warehouse hours earlier. The thugs had actually uncuffed him and pushed him into the room before slamming and bolting the lock of the heavy metal door. Unlike the other, this room was supplied with the cot, a table, and a small closet-sized bathroom that contained just a toilet and small sink. ' _Accommodations'_. He had thought to himself.

He sat up and swung his feet to the floor. He placed his head in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. _Uugghh._ He did not feel well. He was very grateful to have use of his arms once again, but his shoulders and wrists were quite sore and it had taken a while for him to get the feeling back in his arms.

"Alright, SuperSEAL, anytime you're ready to make an appearance... " Danny mumbled to himself. He raised his head and stared at the door for a few seconds. A part of him was actually expecting the door to be busted down at that exact moment in typical Steve fashion, or maybe he would use one of his explosives from his military toy box. _I wonder if I should take cover behind this cot._ He felt one of the scabbed-over cuts on his lip open back up as he smiled at the thought. The smile disappeared as he put the back of his hand to the cut to wipe away the trickle of blood. He stared at the red a moment before wiping it off on his shirt. Reality set in.

Danny heard a noise outside the room and looked up. A face he had not seen before appeared through the small opening on the door. He then heard the bolt on the door slide and Danny tried to stand, succeeding, but much more slowly than he would like. Jacobs entered carrying a tray of food and water and holding a gun pointing at Danny beneath it. "Just stay right where you are, no quick movements," he threatened. He set the tray on the table.

Danny did as he was told. He placed one arm protectively over his bruised ribs and scoffed, "'Quick'? Won't be quick again for a while thanks to your friends. And, oh, by the way, I like my eggs over easy with a little raspberry jam on the side." Danny couldn't resist as he saw the hard-boiled egg and single piece of dry toast.

Jacobs didn't react. He was expecting something like that. He simply backed out the door without taking his eyes off Danny or lowering the gun.

Danny heard the bolt slide shut again. He actually was thankful for the meager offering of food but he would never let his captors know. He sat back on the cot and began to eat.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

HPD had finished processing the museum during the night. Nothing helpful had been found and not even Danny's prints were on the phone. The phone's handler must have wiped it clean. The few remaining gala guests had been interviewed with no one emerging as suspicious initially, but they were not ruling anyone out yet. They still had the guest list to go through and were hopeful for anything to stand out.

The most promising piece of information had come from footage from one of the security cameras. There had not been a camera trained directly at the perpetrator's chosen piece of art, but one directed at the entrance to the room _had_ caught three visitors to the hall where the phone was found. A man and woman had entered first. The man had one arm around the woman's waist and she held her heels in one hand. They each staggered a bit and were smiling. She appeared to be giggling and somewhat dependent upon the man for support. They had been out of sight of the camera for about five minutes when the third visitor, a male, approximately six feet tall with darkish hair, dressed in a tuxedo, entered the room. The couple left the room abruptly when he entered. The team believed the couple's "private time" had been interrupted so they left to find another area.

The best image of the lone man's face, captured as he was leaving, was sent to the lab to see if it could be enhanced for identification. The team was optimistic, even though the last image sent to the lab, that of the driver that had followed Danny, had been inconclusive.

The team had decided to take a brief break to go home and shower, change, eat, and sleep, if possible. Steve had admonished the group, before separating, to be aware of their surroundings and stay alert as they believed the threat could still be against the task force itself.

Even though not necessary, he stressed that if they heard anything from the kidnappers to let him know immediately and he promised to do the same for them. They would meet back in the morning and hopefully their minds would be more attentive for the task at hand. Unfortunately, none were able to get any true, restful sleep.

The team met back at headquarters before daybreak. Steve was the first one there. Lou brought in coffee and malasadas for everyone. They were going to start going through the list of gala attendees and invitees to see if there were any names that popped up as potential suspects.

There had been no contact from the kidnappers. After getting the video, the Five-0 team had hoped for more from whomever had Danny, their demands or anything that they could use to build their investigation.

It was still early and Steve was working in his office when he got the call. The caller's identity had been blocked. He stood up from his desk and quickly made his way to the bullpen area. Chin was standing at the smart table.

"Chin."

Steve raised his brow as he held up his phone to show Chin that he was potentially getting the call they had been waiting for. The others saw what was going on and joined them at the table. Chin prepared the computer to begin the trace and nodded to Steve when he was ready. Steve switched his phone to speaker and touched the "accept" button. "McGarrett."

"Commander."

"You have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am but I don't know who you are," Steve skeptically extended the invitation for his enlightenment.

"Who I am is not your concern right now. Your concern, I'm sure, is the safe return of your colleague."

"I want to talk to Detective Williams."

"In time."

"What do you want?"

"Well, to get right to the point, I want your team to come on board with mine for a very lucrative undertaking," the still unidentified Sebastian King laid out just the shell of his demands.

"Alright... let me get this straight. You want the governor's task force... to assist _you_ … on a heist of some sort? You're not asking for money. You don't want a comrade released from jail. You're not out for revenge. You want our _help_? You're out of your mind." Steve couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"That's right, Commander, that is if you want to see your partner again."

"I need to talk to Danny."

"Think about what I've said. I'll be back in touch with more information... and _maybe_ I'll let you speak to your partner then."

"Wait... wait!" Steve heard the phone hang up. "Damn it! Did we get anything, Chin?" his frustration almost a visible aura around him.

The others had been hanging on to each word of the conversation. Chin answered, "Sorry, Steve, it was a burner and he hung up before we could get the location of the tower, maybe next time."

They were back to waiting again, and more importantly, each was inwardly considering what they would do for their ohana. It would not be a hard decision. Each one knew they would do whatever it would take to get Danny back... no matter the consequences.

_~to be continued~_

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* * *


	7. Chapter 7

"Commander." The next call had come in a few hours later that day and again the whole team was gathered to listen to the conversation. "I have someone that would like to speak to you."

King put the phone to Danny's ear. Danny had once again been brought into the cinder-block room, pushed down onto the same chair, with his arms cuffed behind him again.

"Steve?" Danny began with a low gravelly voice.

"Danny, are you okay?" Steve heard himself speak quickly and anxiously. He took a deep breath and steeled himself.

Without answering his question, Danny went straight to what was on his mind. "Steve… Grace and Charlie? Are they okay?"

"Yeah, buddy, they're great. We've got a detail assigned to Rachel and the kids. They're safe."

Steve heard Danny's exhale of relief and he knew that his captors must have threatened his kids. Steve's anger began to rise again. "Danny, are _you_ okay?" Steve asked again, thankful to at least be hearing Danny's voice.

"Hanging in there I guess, but actually I'd rather be swimming, or eating pineapple pizza, or sitting through couples counseling with you." Steve and the team shared reserved smiles at hearing the humor in Danny's attitude.

King pulled the phone away and put it to his ear again, looking puzzled at that last statement. He turned and faced away from Danny. "Are you satisfied now? Can we talk business?"

"What are you wanting from Five-0?"

"Well, you may recall the location where you found your partner's phone yesterday evening? In case you didn't notice, the museum's temporary exhibit that was being celebrated was a rare collection of Russian diamonds and gems valued at over 70 million dollars. I want that collection and I need your team to get it for me."

"We're not jewel thieves, I think you've got the wrong people."

"You're not jewel thieves… yet, but you know about these criminals and how they work. You've got the skills and resources to get this accomplished for me. You've got three days and I'll be in touch to make the exchange."

King disconnected the call before the trace could be completed and the group stood silently contemplating the demand that was made. Kono spoke first, "Well, it looks like we have a heist to plan."

Steve shook his head in disagreement and looked at Kono but his comments were directed at them all. "I'm not going to ask any of you to participate in this. I'll figure something out myself."

"Mm, mm, mm… we're all in this one… together. You know Danny would do the same for any of us." Lou put in his two cents worth.

"That's right, Steve. We're a team. We're ohana. You're not doing this alone," Chin agreed. "And anyway, it may not come to that, we'll continue the investigation. We may get something to lead us to Danny first. In the meantime, let's check this out."

Steve could not take the chance that the immunity afforded their group would hold up in a situation like this. He would willingly accept any repercussions for himself, individually, but he didn't like the idea of what complicity in a crime like this could mean for the future of the task force, and more importantly, the possibility of prosecution of his friends. However, he didn't argue with his team's unwavering resolve. He was not surprised in the slightest at their insistence. He hesitantly nodded his acceptance of their desire to back him up and inwardly admitted relief that he wouldn't be alone in the endeavor. He was touched by the degree of their loyalty and devotion to their ohana.

Chin started typing into the computer and pulled up information on the diamond exhibit and the museum itself. He started with only what was available to the public. Other, more detailed, information would have to come from an outside source. There couldn't be an official record of their inquiries on the government computer. "This is about all we can get from here. We're going to have to get access to more intel from a different server. We'll need a layout of the building and to find out about their security system."

Steve's eyes widened revealing the idea that struck him. "Chin, you come with me. Kono, you and Lou stay here and continue going through the gala's lists and see if you have any hits on a name or names that stand out. If so, bring 'em in."

"Copy that, boss," Kono answered.

Steve headed to the door, Chin following behind him.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

The Silverado pulled up outside the expansive, upscale, but still very eclectic looking bungalow. The men got out, went to the door, and rang the bell and knocked. It took another knock but the door finally opened slowly.

"Hey, Toast. Good to see you, man. Hey, um, we need your help. Can we come in?" Steve greeted Five-0's old friend.

Soon after Danny had arrived on the island, the techie hacker had gotten into some trouble with the law. Danny had sensed something about this gray hat and had a soft spot for him. Danny stepped up to help him out by putting in a good word with the judge. Later, Danny had introduced Toast to the team and they had called on him a few times for his computer skills to help in solving some cases.

"Ah, McGruff, where's Jersey?" He leaned to his left, looking over their shoulders past Steve and Chin to the outside. When he didn't see Danny, he continued, "You know, it's really not a good time right now," and started to close the door but Steve stepped up closer and put his foot over the threshold and used his arm to stop the door from closing. Steve and Chin could smell the waft of recently smoked pakalolo coming through the opening. The two men shared a knowing glance at each other but ignored the odor and forged ahead with their appeal.

"Like I said, we need your help." Steve's speech was controlled and his tone was low. The seriousness of his voice obvious. " _Jersey_ … needs your help."

"Well then, why didn't you say so?" Toast pulled the door open the rest of the way and waved his arm across his entire body in a grand gesture of an invitation to the men to enter his home.

Toast dispensed with the niceties after Chin and Steve turned down his offer of refreshments. Shortly thereafter, the two men were standing behind Toast while he was seated in front of one of the many monitors in a room devoted solely to high technology. He was typing in a myriad of commands to get the information that Five-0 was needing. Chin informed him that what he was doing must be "off the radar". Because of his background, Toast did not have a problem with that entreaty. Steve and Chin chose not go into details about Danny yet, or why they were needing the information. Toast trusted them and didn't ask questions.

Toast was able to hack into the museum's database and get schematics of the building and get the name of the security company that was protecting the museum's exhibit. He was then able to hack into that security company's network and get all the intelligence Five-0 would need for the heist. Steve and Chin once again marveled at the magic worked by Toast's genius. They left with not only the information but also Toast's promise to aid them the following night, the night Five-0 would be working on the opposite side of the law.

The next 24 hours had been taken up by investigating and interviewing the gala attendees. They kept running into dead ends and their time was running out. They had not received any more contact from the kidnappers.

Under cover of darkness, at 0130 hours the team arrived at the museum. The Governor's elite task force was donned in all black and balaclavas and were geared as if they were going into a SWAT situation. Less than a block away, Toast sat in a van equipped like a mini version of his computer room at home. The team had every detail of the operation planned out, a direct result of Steve's Navy SEAL training. They each had push-to-talk radio earpieces and a direct connection to Toast.

There were three guards employed to be on site 24/7. Kono and Chin each took out one guard a piece using towels soaked with an incapacitating agent. Steve used a chokehold on the other. They were all left unconscious but unhurt. Lou took up his position as the lookout outside and to make sure the guards didn't regain consciousness before the operation was complete.

Toast was able to dismantle the security system a little at a time as the team made it through each access control point. He applied phantom guises to each video feed and overwrote the encryption at each password protected blockade they came to. He guided them through the building, relaying the moment at each checkpoint that they could continue to advance.

They finally made it into the small interior vault where the diamonds and gems were placed after the exhibit closed each day. The trays of precious stones were housed in drawers inside the vaults. They poured the stones from their trays into a drawstring bag they had brought with them. Then, as deftly as the group had entered, they made their way out again, Toast guiding them the whole way.

They met back at the van, loaded their equipment, piled in, and were off, Lou at the wheel. No one spoke a word the whole ride back. They arrived back at Toast's place where they had met up earlier that day. They were going home and would meet back at headquarters in the morning. As they turned to leave, Steve stopped them.

"Guys, before you go, I just wanted to say... thank you." Kono looked down, shook her head, and started to speak her protest, but Steve raised his hand to stop her. "No, let me say this. I want you to know how important you all are to me… each of you. I know what asking this of you means. Today, we did what we had to do. We're going to get Danny back, and then we're going to get these damn rocks back, and then we'll put whichever of the SOBs that are left standing behind bars."

Chin and Kono smiled and Lou pressed his lips together, winked, and nodded his concurrence.

_~to be continued~_

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	8. Chapter 8

Danny had nothing but time to think.

It had been well over 24 hours since Danny had spoken to Steve and the demands on his team had been made. In that time, the subjects of his thoughts had morphed like the patterns of a slowly rotated kaleidoscope. Even though he trusted Steve, he was still anxious about the welfare of Grace and Charlie. That had progressed to wondering what his kids were doing and hoping Rachel had shielded them from the truth so they weren't worrying about him. He had then indulged himself in more daydreams of a clamorous, unbridled rescue by his team. He knew they would be working this case to exhaustion. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty about it all.

Steve was probably worrying himself to a frenzy. Inside his tough exterior, Steve was a soft gummy bear that only a few people knew about. Besides himself, he knew that Catherine and Mary got him and probably Chin, Kono, and even Lou, although maybe not to the same depth. Everyone else saw him the way he tried to portray himself, as an indestructible force of nature. Danny knew, though, that he would take this whole thing hard because he knew that's how _he_ would feel if the tables were turned and it was Steve who had been taken.

His thoughts had gone to how he detested waiting… doing nothing. He could not count on a rescue, he _needed_ to do _something_. That had led to the formulation of his plan. He had known that even though it was against his nature, it was going to take patience. His captors had entered his room and provided him with something to eat once, he expected they would again. So, he had started the process of implementing his plan.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Danny's eyes opened when he heard the bolt on the door slide open. He was lying on his side facing the wall and didn't move when one of the henchmen entered carrying another tray of his next "meal". He continued to play possum.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. Time to eat." Dexter set the tray on the table and left.

Danny arose and pulled the table slightly closer to his cot before settling in to eat the scant offering. After a while, Dexter came back to remove the tray. Again, Danny remained still and quiet. When he left, Danny pulled the table a couple inches closer to the cot.

Several hours later, he was sitting on the cot with his back against the wall and his knees pulled up with his arms wrapped around his legs, one hand grasping his other wrist. He looked up when Dexter came in but didn't move from his spot. Danny saw the gun positioned under the tray, like Jacobs had done before. With only a paper plate and water bottle being provided, Danny figured the main reason for the tray was to better manage the handling of both a gun and the food. It was fine with him as it prompted more visits into his room.

Dexter let the tray drop to the table. He grunted, "There! Boss said we can't let you die of hunger, even though I wouldn't really mind… What, no snide remarks?" Danny remained silent. Dexter shrugged his shoulders as he left, confused at the change of attitude in their prisoner but not caring enough to delve further. Like before, Danny pulled the table a bit closer again. After the tray was removed, he did the same. The delivery of Danny's meals was met each time with a similar scenario. Danny would not move or speak to the provider of the food and each time he would move the table closer to the cot. Because of his passiveness, he could feel the vigilance and tension from his captors ease over this time.

He was now ready to make his move. He knew he wasn't physically in great shape after the abuse his body had endured but the hours that had passed, with the goons leaving him alone, had allowed for a bit of healing. He still wasn't sure how he had managed to keep his mouth shut but he played their game _. Steve would be proud_.

The table was now close to the foot of the cot. Danny needed the table to be close but also needed the closed distance to go unnoticed. Danny sat at that end of the cot with his right foot propped on the mattress and his left foot on the floor. Again, the wall was his backrest. He was now within reaching distance to the table, and therefore, striking distance to the one that brings in the tray… and has a gun.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

It seemed as everything had gone according to plan so far. Steve had kept possession of the stolen diamonds. Now they were once again playing the waiting game to see how the trade would be made.

News of the theft at the museum had been reported on the internet and local news outlets. It normally would have been too early to have been discovered that the gems were missing since they would not be pulled out for display until early afternoon, but the security guards had regained consciousness and the Honolulu Police Department had been alerted before sunrise. Even though it wasn't a murder or terrorist threat, Five-0 normally could have been called in for such a large larceny case. Thankfully, Duke was the unknowing buffer they needed. While the coincidence of the popular location had not been lost on him, he knew that the minds of the Five-0 team members were preoccupied and their hands were full investigating the disappearance of one of their own so HPD began the full-scale investigation without the help of the task force.

Chin and Steve sat in the diner that morning. Lou was going to be bringing Kono and they were going to meet up with the other two members of their team for breakfast. Steve was mostly just moving the veggie omelet around on his plate with his fork. Chin had just opted for a cup of coffee. Neither were talking.

Steve's phone that was lying on the table rang. He glanced at Chin before he picked it up to see who was calling. It was an unknown number and he nodded at Chin. Chin made his own call to start the trace.

"McGarrett."

"Steve." It was Danny's hushed voice.

"Danny? Danny, where are you? What's going on?" Adrenaline kicked in and Steve's heart began to race.

"Steve, for the love of... will you just shut up for a minute and listen." Danny was whispering but Steve could still hear his frustration with him. He wanted to ask a thousand questions, the first to find out Danny's condition. He had to bite his tongue but could tell from Danny's voice and words, he must be doing pretty well.

Chin looked up upon hearing Danny's name. Steve sat straight up and laid his other hand flat on the table as he listened intently.

"Look, I was able to take out one of the guards. This is his phone and I've got his Glock. It only has two rounds in the mag, though." Before Steve could ask, Danny informed him, "I don't know where I am. It's a smallish warehouse though... mm, maybe 30,000 square feet, and I think it's out of the way... in a rural area."

Sitting in the booth at the diner, it felt as though everything there melted away from existence. In his mind, Steve was now standing there alongside of Danny as he took in every detail Danny gave him. Chin noticed Steve's eyes appeared to glaze over. Steve finally felt free to speak. "Danny, where are you now? Are you somewhere safe? Is there anyone else around?"

After quietly leaving his "prison cell" and the unconscious Brennan lying on the floor, thanks to the hard metal of his newly acquired gun, Danny had made his way down the dimly lit hallway, passed the room he'd first been taken to upon his arrival, and was now standing with his back pressed against the wall of the hallway, right where it opened into the storage area of the warehouse. With the back of his left hand held up against the wall, gripping his new weapon, he had ventured a peep around the corner to his left. He had seen a large wooden cable spool being used as a table for a card game that was currently under way between the two other lackeys he had seen since being there. He didn't think there were others but he couldn't be sure. The two still seemed oblivious to the absence of their cohort and what had happened.

"Yeah, at least two others out in the warehouse," Danny whispered. "Don't think there're more but not sure."

"Chin's running a trace on the phone now. Hang in there, buddy." Steve's mind was back in the diner as he looked expectantly at Chin and then saw Lou's black SUV pull into a parking spot outside. "Do you see an exit, a way out, where you won't be seen?"

"There's a pull up door, that's a no-go. But I do see another door on the far side of the warehouse. I just have to get to it without anyone seeing... and hope it's not locked. I think I can cause a distraction." There were metal racks throughout the warehouse, some empty, others stocked with crates and boxes. Danny figured they would provide enough cover.

Steve was looking hopefully at Chin. Chin frowned and started to shake his head and mouthed "burner". He moved his finger in a circle to let Steve know more time was needed for the possibility of narrowing the location. Steve's reaction to the undesirable news was to lightly hit his fist against the table.

Kono and Lou had approached the table and saw the intensity of the phone call Steve was on. Still not knowing what was going on, Kono knew enough to tell the waitress that caught up to them that they would need a few minutes. When the waitress had turned and left, Kono took a seat beside Chin and Lou sat beside Steve.

"Listen, Danny," Steve continued, "the phone is a burner but we're still trying to get a trace. _Do not_ do anything stupid."

Kono and Lou's eyes widened as they heard Steve was talking to Danny.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Danny almost let his voice slip above a whisper. He readjusted his voice and said, "You're the one who acts first and thinks later, remember. I got this. Now look, I'm going to leave the call connected until I get outside but I'm going to put it in my pocket. That _means_ I won't be able to talk to you for a few minutes. Do you think you can handle that, you fruitloop?"

"Yeah, Danny but..."

"Eh, eh, listen, one more thing before I go. Try looking into "King". That's the name on the last number called on this phone. Checked that when I checked the gun's mag. Might be the main guy. Haven't seen him in a day or so. Looks like a big wig... lots of dough, and flaunts it."

"Got it, Danny. Be careful."

"Yep. I'm going. See ya on the flipside." Danny shoved the phone in his pocket. He snuck around the corner into the warehouse but was able to hide behind a crate on one of the racks. He looked around the floor but couldn't find any loose object. He decided on another option. He tested a 2-inch screw holding bars on one of the racks and found it to be loose. He felt like he was playing Jenga with Grace as he carefully and quietly worked the screw loose from the rack. He was relieved to see the bars didn't budge, probably the rust acting as glue and the fact nothing was on the shelves above.

 _Okay, I hope my baseball pitching skill isn't as rusty as that rack._ He picked a spot behind the two card players and threw the screw. It hit its mark and Danny smiled with pride. _Yep, still got it._

The two men turned in unison toward the sound and threw down the hands they were holding. They went to investigate. Danny silently took off toward the door. He arrived to find the door _was_ locked. _Damn. So much for my streak of luck._ The door wouldn't budge so he turned to check the remaining wall that had been invisible to him from his original position in the hall.

"Where do you think you're going?" He found himself staring at the now wide awake and obviously very angry Brennan.

Danny lowered Brennan's own gun toward him. "I think I've overstayed my welcome. If you don't mind, can you show me the way out?"

Knowing the talking would draw them, Danny quickly glanced over to check on the whereabouts of the other two. He wasn't surprised to see a gun in the hand of one of them pointed in his direction. Danny made the instant decision to take a shot at the armed man and would come back to Brennan after. Dexter, however, fired first. Danny's shot followed and barely missed its target but hit the metal rack behind and ricocheted. The bullet had grazed Dexter's thigh. He grabbed at his leg but remained standing.

It took a moment for the pain to register in Danny's brain. He actually saw the blood first. But when the pain hit, it hit hard. The Glock fell out of his hand.

"Danno!?" Steve yelled out.

_~to be continued~_

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	9. Chapter 9

As soon as Danny had put the phone, still connected, in his pocket, Steve continued to hold his to his ear but moved it slightly away from his mouth. He recounted a brief summary of what was transpiring to his riveted teammates. Danny had somehow gotten an upper hand on one of the guards and was attempting an escape. But with still no clue of his location, they were helpless to offer any assistance. Even if Danny did get out, where would he go? He had already said he thought he was in the middle of nowhere.

Then Steve had heard muffled voices but couldn't make out what was being said. His heart sank. He knew if he was hearing voices, it was not a good sign. He couldn't hardly stand not being there to help his partner… knowing that Danny was on his own.

Lou stood because he could tell Steve was about to come out of his seat, literally. Steve affirmed Lou's perception as he rose and with the phone still to his ear, made a bee line for outside. He had to get some air.

Chin lingered only a minute as the trace completed with almost perfect timing. The results, though promising, did not call for urgency and he made the decision to report the outcome to Steve at a more appropriate time. He threw down more than enough money on the table to cover the bill and tip and the rest of the team followed Steve out of the diner.

Steve was pacing by his truck, one hand on his hip as he listened intently. The burden of uselessness was unrelenting. Deep creases formed in his brow betraying his natural stoicism. He should be there. He was supposed to be Danny's backup but he was here, standing in a damn diner parking lot. He knew exactly what the next sound coming through the phone was. The muted clap of gunfire was undeniable. Two shots had been fired.

Steve abruptly stopped in his tracks and yelled, "Danno!?"

"Boss?" Kono timidly questioned but sensed she wouldn't want to hear what was happening.

"Two shots fired. Danny had two rounds. Maybe..." was all Steve could get out before he choked on the words. Steve swallowed hard to try to regain his composure. Lou rested both of his hands on the side of the bed of Steve's truck, letting the vehicle take his weight as he leaned over looking at the ground between his arms. Chin placed his hand on Steve's shoulder to give their leader and friend as much emotional support as possible through a tactile means.

Steve couldn't take it anymore. He handed the phone to Chin and scrubbed his face with his hand and began to pace once again. Chin took some of the metaphorical weight from Steve when he took the phone. He hit the speaker button and laid it on the hood of the Silverado. He knew Steve wouldn't be able to be away from it for long but he, Kono, and Lou would be there for him until he was ready to resume his position as point on the call. Kono pushed her hair behind her ear and inclined it in that direction as if it would help her to hear better and maybe catch something they may miss otherwise.

After what seemed an interminable silence, they heard muffled voices and what sounded like a scuffle. Kono's questioning eyes met her cousin's in a silent plea for solace from the wise veteran. This time he could not provide what she craved. At the new sounds, Steve was back by the phone in an instant, needing to hear from his partner.

None of the voices they heard were Danny's.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

The shot was a through and through. The heat seared Danny's right shoulder as his body twisted in response. Danny grabbed at the wound immediately with his left hand and emitted a pained hiss. His grip crumbled and the gun fell from his hand. Brennan took the opportunity to lunge at the now unarmed Danny and they both tumbled to the ground, Brennan on top. Having the size and gravitational advantage, Brennan let loose his rage in the form of relentless blows to Danny's face, sides, and his wounded shoulder. Danny could not compel his body to retaliate. The adrenaline required to mount such an effort leaked away with the blood and the pain in his shoulder. His weakened and now injured body left him vulnerable. His battered form curled into a fetal position and he allowed déjà vu to overtake him. Danny's mind was taken back to his beatings in the Colombian prison. Steve had come through for him then, he accepted that it would be up to him once again. That was the last thing on his mind as his struggle to maintain consciousness ended with a shower of stars followed by black nothingness from a final jab to the side of his head.

It was Jacobs that pulled Brennan off of Danny. Brennan struggled in Jacobs' grasp and thought about going after him for a second also but realized he was pretty much spent himself. Still being loosely restrained by Jacobs, he gave one more hardy kick to Danny's side. He heard the smaller man at his feet groan at the last blow. He had expended all his energy into the one-sided clash. It wasn't until that moment that he took the time to wipe the trail of blood, courtesy of Danny's earlier attack, away from his forehead with his shirt sleeve.

Brennan and Jacobs dragged Danny's lifeless form back to his cell and flopped him on the cot. Danny let out an unconscious moan at the pain that was registering in his body. His shoulder was bleeding freely as were the new lacerations dealt to him in the beating.

Brennan patted Danny down and found the phone Danny had taken from him. He saw that the phone was connected to someone. Brennan determined who would be on the other end and held the phone to his ear. With a sinister smile and still labored but easing breath, he tormented the listener with one phrase, "Sorry about your guy." He threw the phone to the ground and crushed it with his heavy boot. He then left to make the dreaded call to Mr. King. Jacobs followed Brennan out and left the door to the room wide open. The prisoner was not going anywhere.

Jacobs, a former Army medic, patched up the ricocheted bullet wound on Dexter's leg. It was mostly a bad scratch. Jacobs just left him with instructions to keep it clean and covered and it should heal just fine. After finishing with Dexter, Jacobs again returned to Danny's room with his IFAK. He cleaned, packed, and wrapped Danny's shoulder wound. He acted proactively knowing Mr. King would not want his only leverage to die from blood loss. Except for a couple of butterfly bandages on the worst cuts on his temple, he left the other wounds untreated. This time, upon leaving, he bolted the door.

Brennan made the inevitable call to Sebastian King. He detailed as best he could what had just occurred, reiterating the _failure_ of the escape effort. It didn't help to assuage King's anger.

"Fools. We _were_ going to set up the trade for tonight. They got our diamonds… a day early. It's all over the news."

"Sorry, sir. He tricked us."

"You should have seen it coming. We'll try for tomorrow _if_ our guest is up to it. After what you said to whoever was on the phone, they're going to be demanding to know their man is alive before we can do the deal. We'll need him to be awake and able to speak. If he can't... it's on you." King ended the call leaving the veiled threat hanging. Selfishly, Brennan felt his first pangs of regret for the beating he had given the detective.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

The next thing they had heard was clear and unmuffled from an unknown voice. "Sorry about your guy."

After a loud cracking sound, the line went dead. The connection to their friend that defied geographical distance was lost.

"No!" Kono cried as she turned away from the group so they wouldn't see the tears she was willing not to fall. Lou hung his head and Chin went to comfort Kono.

Steve could only stand there in disbelief as everything moved in slow motion. The movement and sound of oblivious patrons and cars entering and exiting the restaurant were distorted. There was an unusual fullness in his head that caused ringing in his ears. Drops of sweat started their trek downward from his forehead. His arm was heavier than it should be when he lifted it to wipe the salty drops that had made their way to his eyes. For the next few moments, he was aware of every blink of his eyes. _One… two… three_ … he could count each time his eyes opened and closed. _What is that sound?_ He thought he may be hearing his eyes blink. _No, that's my heartbeat_. He felt the rise and fall of his chest as he found it hard to control his breathing. His brain fought to get back to a semblance of normalcy.

He had not fully won that battle. However, Steve was the leader so he spoke first anyway, though not very coherently. "Uh, okay, uh, we need to… uh, get back..." - _breathe_ \- "to headquarters to find Danny."

No one moved, not even Steve. But then, as though, his semi-catatonic state began to thaw like an ice cube on hot Hawaiian sands, he slowly gained a hold of his senses. He began to feel more comfortable in his skin, more himself. If asked, he would not have been able to describe or explain it to anyone. He just had a feeling.

He followed up on his last fragmented statement as he spoke again, "King."

"What?" A perplexed Chin turned from Kono to face Steve. "Steve, what did you say?"

"King... that's the name Danny gave me before we lost communications with him." It was coming back to him and he was feeling reinvigorated. The strength and confidence in his voice had returned. Danny was _not_ dead and they were not going to give up on him.

_~to be continued~_

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	10. Chapter 10

The team fed off Steve's newly found energy. Even though they didn't quite understand the source of this energy, his confidence was contagious. Feelings of dread and hopelessness had to take a back seat. Danny had given them information from which they could finally build. And even though they didn't truly know Danny's condition, they were going to put everything they had into finding him. There were no other options.

They were back at Five-0 headquarters and were once again attacking their new data. The trace on the burner phone had not yielded a distinct location but it had held long enough to triangulate an area north of Honolulu in the central part of the island.

The forensics lab had been able to clean up the museum video footage. Facial recognition had now identified the man believed to have left Danny's phone as Ben Jacobs. Kono filled in the group with the information she had acquired. "He has several small priors. Three years ago, Jacobs was dishonorably discharged from the Army. He had been a medic and served a tour overseas. However, according to his Army buddies, when he got a "Dear John" letter from his fiancé, he turned to alcohol and gambling. He threw away his promising career and went into a lot of debt. His last known address had put him in Texas... Houston area."

The name "King" had turned up twice on their museum list. A Cheryl King had attended the gala with her sister who was visiting from the mainland. A background check and brief in-person interview by Kono and Lou, with Mrs. King and her husband, had satisfied the team that this was a dead end.

A Sebastian King had been on the invitee list but did not attend. He was a young entrepreneur that made a better-than-a-good living in the export and dock loading business. He had a reputation of being a generous philanthropist. Chin sent a photo to the large screen. Steve's interest was piqued. As Chin read off the info they had on this King, Steve recalled Danny saying the main guy has lots of money and flaunts it.

"Kono, have we found any connection between Jacobs and King?"

"Nothing definite yet... _however_... King _has_ had business dealings in the Houston area in the last year."

"Chin, let's bring in this guy, Sebastian King. I have a funny feeling about him." Steve took a moment to stare at the eyes of the amiable countenance on the image in front of him, then turned and headed toward his office.

"On it." Chin began typing on the smart table. "Steve, I've found something interesting. This King has several warehouses on the island, including one in our triangulation area."

Steve stopped short and turned back facing Chin. "That could be it. Did you get an address?"

"Yeah, it's coming up as…"

Steve's phone rang. It was a blocked number and he held up his index finger to stop Chin from continuing. "McGarrett," Steve answered, speaker on.

"Commander, sounds like you and your people had a successful outing. Now you're in possession of my property, and I want it. I believe it's time we meet for an exchange."

Steve let out a deep silent breath of cautious relief at hearing the word "exchange". This was the first hint that Danny was in fact alive. He proceeded guardedly.

"Okay… I know _something_ went down yesterday. You should expect I'll need proof of life. Let me talk to Detective Williams."

"You'll get what you need later. For now, your instructions are to come alone and unarmed, with no wire and no phone, to the parking area for the Kaili'i trailhead at 1600 hours. There will be a dark gray truck there with keys under the mat. Get in the truck and you'll get more info then. Bring the gems, and remember, alone… and unarmed. If anything is amiss, you won't be getting your partner back… ever."

The call ended.

The relieved team let the comments sink in. "So, should we get our hopes up? What do you think he means about getting 'what you need later'?" Lou asked.

"I think if Danny's okay, we'll hear from him before the exchange." Steve sounded encouraged and revived.

"That's just an hour and a half from now," Chin informed the rest.

"Yeah, and you're not going alone, right boss?" Kono added.

"You heard him. I have to go alone. Our first priority is Danny. But… that doesn't mean you can't be nearby. Here's what I'm thinking…" Steve set about imparting his plan to his team.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Sometime in the night, the unconscious state Danny was in morphed into a pain-filled sleep. The sound of the bolt on the door slamming open brought him out of that state. The pain that his entire body had been feeling throughout his sleep, but that had failed to waken him, finally erupted into an overwhelming surge of agony.

It wasn't a gradual awakening. His eyes popped open but quickly closed when the light of the room pierced into the back of his head. His hands came up to clamp over his eyes but that's when the dull ache he had been feeling in his shoulder transformed into a searing, burning pain. "Shit!" His hand that had been moving to his eyes was now on his shoulder, trying unsuccessfully to alleviate the pain. He felt the padding of bandages and his brain began to catch up. He recalled the events that led up to his blackout. He had been shot in his attempt to get away... then the beating.

He abandoned the attempted relief to his pounding head and wrapped his right arm over the ribs he believed to be fractured. This time he _slowly_ opened his eyes and turned his head to see who was entering his prison cell even though he really didn't give a damn. He saw that it was Jacobs and turned his head back in disinterest and closed his eyes once again.

"Detective, we weren't sure you would be awake."

"You weren't sure I'd be alive," Danny mumbled with a scratchy voice. He didn't open his eyes.

"Yeah, Bre... my colleague does have a temper." Obeying orders, he stopped himself from saying the name. "You did a number on him, you know. Knocked him for a loop." Danny may have normally found that satisfying and be amused but right now he couldn't care less.

Jacobs approached Danny and pulled up the bandage on his shoulder. Danny moved his hand out of the way. He winced at the pull on his tender skin and looked up at Jacobs with one eye. He wasn't surprised when he noticed there was no gun in sight this time. It wasn't like he was any sort of threat.

"That your work?" Danny questioned.

There was no nod or gesture from Jacobs. And even though he didn't directly confirm his suspicion, Danny knew when he commented on the wound. "Doesn't look too bad. You're lucky." He reattached the same bandage.

"Yeah, that's me, freakin' lottery winner." Danny looked up at the ceiling and moved his hand back to his shoulder.

"This is ending today. The exchange is being made this afternoon."

"K… so?" Danny grimaced slightly as he again turned to look in Jacob's direction.

"Your people… they're demanding proof that you're alive. You have to make one more call." Jacobs pulled a phone from his pocket.

Danny managed a condescending smile. He thought about refusing the "request" but changed his mind. "You know what…" groaning through the pain, he let go of his shoulder. He continued to hold his ribs though as he pulled himself up to a sitting position, "…whatever speeds this up."

Jacobs dialed the number and handed the device to Danny.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

The call came as Steve and Lou loaded their vehicles. Chin and Kono were still in the HQ making other arrangements.

"McGarrett."

"Hey, it's me."

Steve leaned over and rested his free hand on his knee drawing in a deep breath of air. "Buddy, am I glad to hear your voice. You okay?"

"Eh… breathing," was Danny's only reply.

Steve could sense the difference in his voice. "We heard shots… Danny…? Danny, what is it?"

 _Broken_?

He felt a response was not coming, so wanting to comfort his friend, he went on. "Look, the trade's happening today. We're getting you out of there."

"Steve, look, I, uh, don't want you…"

"That's enough." Jacobs pulled the phone away and disconnected the call. He turned to leave and without looking at Danny said, "We'll be back in a little while. If I were you, I'd take it easy for now."

Danny dropped to his back. He had overdone it. His vision was blurring and he felt a wave of nausea. He would gladly accept any mental escape right now that his body would effectuate. He closed his eyes and succumbed to the pull of restless sleep.

Steve had gotten what he needed. He made a quick call to Chin to let him know about Danny and then they got on the road. Steve made it to the designated parking lot five minutes early. There were only two other vehicles there, a white Jeep and a late model, gray crew cab F150. No one was around.

Before trading vehicles, he sent a quick text to Chin to see if everyone was in position. They were. He left his phone and SIG in the console of his Silverado and went to investigate the F150. The door was unlocked and he pulled up the mat and, as promised, there was the key.

There was a note lying in the seat that only said "GPS". Steve climbed in and activated the GPS. It was preprogrammed with a destination. It instructed him to drive two miles up the maintenance access road. He started the truck and headed for the access road. _I'm coming Danno. Hang on a little longer._

_~to be continued~_

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	11. Chapter 11

When Steve pulled up beside the isolated, open-air, maintenance vehicle shelter in the lush Hawaiian forest, the dark green van was already there. The van faced his vehicle but was angled to where he could see the passenger side but none of the driver's side. He intently surveilled the area and saw no one. He believed he saw a driver behind the wheel of the van but the angle of the vehicle and shadowing made it hard to tell. _Let's do this_. He expelled one long breath, grabbed the drawstring bag, and stepped out. He walked to the front of the truck and leaned back on its grill. He folded his arms and waited, never taking his eyes off the van.

He heard the sound of the van's back door open before he saw movement. Steve stood up straight in anticipation, abandoning the support the front of the truck afforded. One man stepped out from the right side of the van and took a 2 o'clock position to Steve. Another went to his 10 o'clock position. Both held assault rifles, not aimed at Steve but at the ready.

Another man now emerged from behind the right side of the van. Steve immediately recognized him as Sebastian King from the picture Chin had shown the team. He was tall with dark hair and a strong jaw line. He stopped and nodded at his man on Steve's left. The man approached Steve and gestured his intent. Steve lifted his arms and let the man pat him down. The man backed off and reassumed his position.

With his hands in his pockets, King walked slowly and confidently toward Steve. Steve's pulse quickened and his eyes started shifting between the van and King. He still did not see Danny. King stopped in front of him.

"Commander, nice to finally meet you face to face," King greeted him with a slight smile.

Steve choked back his disgust and willed himself to stay calm. "Where is Detective Williams?"

Without acknowledging his inquiry, he nodded toward the bag Steve was holding but didn't look away from Steve's eyes. "Is that mine?"

"Depends… as I said, where is… Detective Williams?" Steve steeled himself, his speech slow and deliberate.

King pivoted his upper body in the direction of the man on his right and jerked his head in the direction of the van. He then returned his attention to Steve, again meeting his gaze. "I knew your team would come through. You do excellent work. I was thinking, maybe we should work together again sometime." He smiled.

Steve hated his smugness… he hated _him_. He wanted to take him out right there but he reined in his ire.

Steve first saw him out of the corner of his eye. Two men were bringing Danny around the side of the van. Steve's arms dropped to his side and he shifted his weight on his feet. "Danny." The whispered name fell off his lips unintentionally as he let go of his resolve for a nanosecond.

He took in Danny's battered form completely now. His arms were restrained behind his back and he was gagged. The men each had an arm and were having to support most of his weight because Danny couldn't.

Though barely murmured, Danny still heard his name. He heard Steve's voice. He looked up and saw his friend. Feelings of relief and fear collided and clashed with each other, with the fear for Steve's safety gaining the edge.

When Danny's eyes met his, Steve saw Danny accept his own weight and stand on his own. However, his gaze quickly dropped from Steve and he lowered his head, almost as if he were embarrassed.

 _Broken_.

Steve's stomach turned. The feeling of heartbreak overwhelmed him first, then a wave of fury burned his insides. Steve saw the stark white bandages on Danny's head contrasting with the bruises on his face. There were multiple other untreated lacerations and his eyes were swollen. His shirt was partially unbuttoned and there was a large dark burgundy stain of dried blood on its right shoulder. He observed other abrasions and bruises peeking out from under his shirt. When he saw Danny's eyes, he did not see Danny in them. This was a shell of what his friend used to be.

In an involuntary reaction, Steve must have unknowingly moved toward Danny because he noticed the armed men abruptly raised their weapons. He halted his advance, stood still, and glowered at King. "You bastard!"

"How sweet, your concern is endearing."

Steve hastily offered up the bag he held to King. "Let me help him."

Holding up a hand to Steve's chest, the subtle resistance once again stopped his advance. "My men can manage. Let me check this out." He took the bag from Steve's slack grip and opened it to inspect its contents.

As King made his examination, Steve watched as the men passed them by with Danny in tow. They opened the back door of the truck and pushed Danny in. Steve heard a loud moan come from his gagged friend. He turned to see what had happened but stayed put, waiting for consent from King before moving.

"Take it easy there, gentlemen!" he heard King warn his men.

He then directed his comments toward Steve. "The detective's a bit sensitive. I'm sorry for the state he's in. He wasn't as cooperative as we had hoped. You have a feisty partner there, Commander."

"You done? You got what you want."

"Yes, of course. I'm sure you're in a hurry. It looks like everything is good here. We appreciate your help. I think your partner is ready to go." The door on the truck slammed closed and the men stepped away.

Steve hesitated. He wanted to rip out the throat of the man in front of him, and seriously considered it. Several seconds passed as the two men stared each other down.

King wondered if Steve was going to try something but also knew his men were there if he did.

Steve moved first. He backed toward the driver's side. Steve pointed his finger at King. "We _will_ meet again, King. I promise you that."

The not-so-veiled threat revealed to King that Five-0 had figured out his identity. He pursed his lips and nodded. He was impressed but not surprised. His confidence, however, didn't let that information bother him.

Steve half glanced at Danny lying in the back before climbing behind the wheel. He needed to get his partner out of there. He had made the decision to remove Danny from the threat of King and his men first and foremost. The parking area at the trailhead was just minutes away. There he could assess Danny's injuries and get back in contact with his team.

He heard Danny's moans from behind him. "Just hang on there, buddy. Okay? We're almost there."

He pulled into the lot, next to his own truck, and jumped out. He swiftly grabbed his phone from his console and dialed Chin as he headed back to Danny. When he opened the back door, phone held to his ear with his shoulder, he realized what had caused Danny his distress when he was loaded into the truck.

"Damn… damn it!"

A wet crimson stain was growing on Danny's shirt on his side. They had knifed him as they put him in the truck. Steve was not sure if they had been trying to finish him off or make one last statement but he knew Danny needed medical help right away.

"Steve, what is it? Are you okay? Did you get Danny?" Chin had answered and heard Steve's desperate exclamation.

"Chin, where's the ambulance? Danny needs help now! … Danny, can you hear me? Wake up, okay? … Chin?!"

"The ambulance is headed your way. We'll be there in a minute." Chin had been awaiting word from Steve at the children's playground parking lot, the nearest lot to the one Steve had to go to but out of sight of potential watching eyes. He was there with an ambulance.

Steve threw the phone on the floor of the truck. He then pulled the gag from Danny's mouth and fumbled for his handcuff key in his pocket. He tried to steady his hand long enough to get the cuffs off of Danny. He couldn't stand to see his spirited friend restrained any longer. He got the cuffs off and then rolled Danny back so he could get as much pressure on his free-flowing wound as possible. He could hear the sirens now, music to his ears.

"Danny, do you hear that? Come on, they're almost here. Danno, wake up, damn it!"

Danny began to moan again. "Good Danno, you're going to be okay. Just stay with me, okay?"

Danny did not open his eyes but he heard his friend, his brother, calling out to him. He'd try, but sleep felt much better. Maybe he could let go for just a minute…

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Sebastian King watched as Steve backed up the gray truck a bit before spinning it forward and speeding off. He then turned and flung the bag of diamonds at Jacobs as though they were a bag of beans. "Let's go," he ordered Jacobs as he headed away from the shelter down a short path to an opening in the forest. The complacent pair climbed into the waiting helicopter and Jacobs piloted it away.

From their respective positions, Steve and Chin had each heard and seen the chopper take off and leave the area, and they both knew who it was.

Brennan transported the rest of the men in the van back to the warehouse, following their instructions. They were oblivious to the fact that they were walking into a trap.

Lou and Kono had used the address they had gained previously and had swept the area while it was vacated. They made sure Lou's vehicle was hidden from sight and were awaiting the arrival of the group after the exchange went down.

Kono was located on a small knoll with her SR-25 rifle. She was positioned at a 60-degree angle of both the warehouse door and the gravel road that led to it. The angle wasn't optimum, but the elevation and vegetative coverage provided the best vantage point for sniping.

Lou was much closer to the warehouse, hidden behind a dumpster on the far side of the door from Kono's position. From where they were, they could not see each other but were in verbal radio contact.

Chin had already been in touch with them to let them know that Steve had secured Danny, so they were clear to use whatever force was necessary. He also gave them only vague information on Danny's condition because he knew very little himself. What they did know was that it sounded bad. But they were there to do a job and that had to come first.

The van stopped in front of the pull up door and Dexter, riding shotgun, got out to raise the door for access into the warehouse. Kono didn't have a good shot.

Lou made his move and exposed his location but maintained most of his cover. He announced their identification, "Five-0! Drop your weapons! Don't be stupid now, we've got you covered!"

The men didn't comply. Dexter jumped for cover behind a stack of pallets. Two of the men still left in the van foolishly exited their vehicle and tried to make a stand using the doors of the van as their cover. They pulled their weapons and opened fire in Lou's direction. Lou returned fire. He had done his part, now it was Kono's turn. She found her targets one at a time with precision.

Brennan had remained behind the wheel. As he saw his cohorts go down, he put the van in reverse and gave it gas. He was trying to make it back to the main road. When the van passed him, Lou came out from behind the dumpster, completely exposing himself, and aimed at one of the front tires. Brennan attempted a shot in his direction hitting the metal behind Lou as he jerked the wheel to get the van going forward.

Lou did not flinch from the missed shot as he squeezed the trigger. The tire exploded and the van fell on its side with help from the momentum of the directional change.

When everything went quiet, it was over.

Buck Brennan was subdued and taken into custody by Lou. "You had to be stupid now, didn't you." He had only suffered superficial injuries.

Kono called in for backup from HPD. One of the offenders had suffered life threatening injuries and had to be transported to the hospital. The other two were fatally injured, Dexter being one of them. Lou and Kono left the scene in the hands of HPD and they took off to join their ohana at the hospital.

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

Steve rode in the ambulance with Danny on the way to Tripler. Danny had slipped into a deep unconscious state. His moaning and restless fidgeting had stopped. Steve tried to talk to him to coax him back, but his efforts failed. The paramedics were able to stabilize him for much of the ride, but his blood pressure began to drop as they neared the hospital. They warned Steve he was in serious, if not critical, condition and to not get his hopes up. Steve did not need to be told. He already knew. His past medical training and the gaunt and pale figure lying beside him confirmed that. He ceased his pleading with Danny. It wasn't that he had given up, but more that a numbness had overtaken him and he just didn't have it in him right now.

Upon arriving at the hospital, they hurried Danny to surgery. Chin had followed behind the ambulance and joined Steve in the waiting room. Chin had been in touch with Kono and Lou and they had apprised him of the outcome of the clash with King's men. He passed along the information to Steve who nodded his acknowledgement.

"King?"

Chin shook his head. "Nothing yet. They're working on it."

Steve pressed his lips together in disgust. He stood up and walked to the window.

They had been awaiting word on Danny for just under an hour when Kono and Lou arrived. Steve was staring out the window with his hands resting on his hips and Chin was seated, rotating an empty coffee cup in his hands. Steve's coffee had gone cold sitting untouched on one of the end tables.

The duo saw Steve but approached Chin. "Hey, cuz. How's Danny?" Kono asked as he stood to give her a hug. Chin sat again with Kono and Lou taking a seat on either side of him to await the answer.

"Well, we haven't heard anything from the doctor yet. Steve said he had a through and through GSW at his shoulder and had been beaten up pretty badly. He's in surgery right now."

"Surgery?"

"Um, yeah. King's men knifed him as they loaded him in the truck. It sounds like he lost a lot of blood, maybe some internal bleeding too."

"That son of a bitch," Lou spoke under his breath, shaking his head in disbelief. "How's _he_ doing?"

Chin followed Lou's line of vision to Steve and shrugged. "As you can see, not too well. I just hope we hear something soon."

A couple more hours passed and Steve was now seated with the group as they waited. The volunteer waiting room attendant called for the family of Daniel Williams. Steve jumped up first and the others followed. The attendant directed them to the hallway where a doctor was signing off on a form before handing the clipboard to a waiting nurse.

When he saw the group approach, he asked, "Are you here for Detective Williams?"

"Yes." Steve nodded.

"I'm Dr. Sylva." He displayed a pleasant smile and took the time to shake the hand of each team member as they were introduced.

"How is he, Doc?" Steve jumped right to it, glad that the pleasantries were over.

Dr. Sylva understood their eagerness and overlooked the casual euphemism used for his title. "Detective Williams did well through surgery and he's holding his own right now. He was just moved from recovery to the intensive care unit where we can monitor him closely. We have listed his condition as critical, but I do expect a marked improvement."

Steve briefly looked down to the ground in relief and then gave his attention back to Dr. Sylva.

"The knife or object that penetrated his abdomen caused a splenic laceration that was causing some internal bleeding which was in turn causing his blood pressure to drop. We were able to repair it. The tear in the splenic capsule was small, so we opted for a repair instead of doing a splenectomy. He'll still need to be on antibiotics but shouldn't be as susceptible to infections with the spleen still intact."

Chin took advantage of the doctor's pause to ask, "What about his other injuries?"

"Well, the perforating gunshot wound had already been rudimentarily cleaned and treated. We just had to add some stitching and do minimal repairs but it looks pretty good. We'll keep an eye on it for infection. He had also sustained a grade three concussion from trauma to the head. We ran a CT scan, though, and thankfully, there is no hemorrhaging in the brain. Besides that, a couple of his ribs were bruised and one was fractured. He has multiple severe contusions, several lacerations, and some superficial cuts and scrapes."

The doctor paused to allow the concerned friends to take in the information.

Steve broke the silence. "What's the prognosis?"

"Like I mentioned, I expect him to improve. He's young and strong and I don't see any reason he can't make a full recovery. It will take time though. He has had a blood transfusion and he'll be given fluids and antibiotics intravenously. He'll be in intensive care for at least a few hours to start. If his vitals stabilize and we don't have a problem with infection, I'm hopeful that we can upgrade his condition and possibly be able to move him to a regular room within a day… maybe even by morning."

"Can we see him?" Steve was hopeful.

"Yes, two at a time for now, while he's in ICU. He'll be out of it anyway for a few hours. I'd recommend you have a short visit and then go home and get some rest yourselves for when he wakes up. Follow me, I'll show you to his room."

They followed Dr. Sylva to the door and again shook hands in the hallway. It was decided Lou and Chin would go in first because they knew Steve wouldn't want to leave once he got in there.

Steve caught Dr. Sylva before he could walk away. "Hey, Doc, one more thing. The people who did this to him… well, we don't expect any problems… but they're in the wind right now and we're going to need to put a police detail outside of his room, at least temporarily."

"Of course, I understand. I'll let administration know."

"Thank you, Doctor… for everything." Steve's genuine gratitude evident. Dr. Sylva smiled and nodded and continued down the corridor.

Kono placed the call ordering the HPD detail then waited with Steve and tried to soothe his impatience with lighthearted talk. "You know Steve, I bet you're starving. I hear the cafeteria actually has a pretty good sub. Could I go get you one?"

"Uh, sure, yeah." Steve paced outside Danny's room, intently watching his door, and peeking in when nurses would go in or out.

"Okay, good, mayo, mustard, vinegar, or something else?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

Kono caught on. "Vinyl or digital?"

"Mm, hmm."

"Boss, come on. You heard the doctor. Danny's going to be alright. He's back with us… safe. We got him back, like we said we would."

Steve stopped pacing and looked at Kono now. He was finally hearing her.

He forced a smile for her benefit. "Yes, we did."

He understood that and he was truly thankful and proud of his team, in more ways than one, but he had a gnawing in his gut that wasn't a hunger for food. It was a hunger for something else, mixed with an unease that wouldn't leave him alone. His thoughts were broken when the door opened again.

Out of respect for Steve and Kono, Lou and Chin did not stay long. Chin exited and tried an encouraging smile. He informed Steve that he and Lou were going to check on the status of Sebastian King and would be in touch.

Steve and Kono entered the room and saw Danny surrounded by lighted and beeping monitors and equipment. There were tubes and wires running under the sheet and lightweight cotton knit blanket that covered Danny and he had an oxygen mask to help with his breathing.

Kono immediately went to Danny's side, pushed back the covers, and grabbed his hand. It felt cold, so she put her other hand on top of it as though that would help to warm it. Her thumb swept lightly, back and forth, over the reddened area around his wrist where he had been restrained. Steve stood at the foot of his bed and just stared, filled with anxiety for his partner, his friend… his brother. But they _did_ have him back and he _was_ safe and he _was_ going to be okay. He just had to keep reminding himself of this.

An hour had passed when the nurse who had been attending to Danny announced that they really needed to leave. It was past visiting hours and the hospital had already allowed them to stay longer than they should. Kono expectantly studied Steve, knowing what was coming. Steve _had_ thought about protesting but reluctantly agreed to the nurse's request, knowing Danny wouldn't be waking for several more hours anyway.

On the walk out of the hospital, Kono questioned Steve's willingness to leave so easily. "I was sure they were going to have a fight on their hands. What's up?"

"I've got some calls to make and there's somewhere I need to go." Quickly trying to redirect her curiosity, "You go home and get some rest… you did good today, Kono."

She tilted her head to the side with a raised brow but didn't question her boss any further.

"And if you don't mind, call Chin and Lou and tell them to do the same. I'll see you tomorrow." He gave the best smile he could muster and gave her a hug and a light kiss on the cheek.

At Chin's direction, HPD had delivered Steve's truck to the hospital parking lot. Kono was taking Chin's car as he had ridden with Lou to HQ. She pulled out of the parking lot. Steve stayed behind, sitting in his truck as he called Rachel to fill her in on Danny.

"Hi, Rachel."

"Steve…" He could hear her worry through the extended pause. "Do you have news?"

"We got him back, Rachel. Danno's going to be able to see the kids real soon."

He couldn't see her close her eyes in reaction at hearing the news but he did hear her expel an attempted silent breath of relief. Leaving out the unnecessary details, he went on to give her a brief summary of Danny's condition knowing the evidence of what he went through would be visible when they did see him.

"Thank you, Steven."

"We did what we had to do. Those kids need their Danno." Steve was trying to express that thanks was not necessary.

 _And so do you._ She kept that thought to herself. "I'll bring them by for a visit when Danny's awake and up to it."

"He'll love that. That'll be better than any other medicines they're pumping into him. Thank you, Rachel."

He hung up with Rachel and looked up at the hospital façade, finding the approximate floor and windows where Danny would be, still sedated and unaware. He returned his attention to the phone in his hand and stared at it for a few moments. Then he placed the call and put the phone to his ear, waiting. He had called the person he needed to go see. Yes, it was late but he needed to go do this… now.

_~to be continued~_

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	13. Chapter 13

With just a hint of orange touching the black eastern sky, Steve arrived at the hospital. It was well before visiting hours but as he walked through the corridors, he sensed the medical center's activity seemed to be awakening with the morning. Dr. Sylva was making his rounds prior to his office hours. He was exiting Danny's room as Steve walked up.

At seeing Steve approach, the doctor was surprised, but the early arrival was not entirely unexpected at the same time. He shook Steve's hand again in greeting.

"Commander."

Steve noted no concern on the doctor's face as he left his partner's room which brought his edginess down a notch. He appreciated the doctor bypassing further social formalities. "He's doing better. His vitals have improved and he's showing signs of waking soon."

That was the answer to Steve's next unspoken question. He was pleased that he hadn't missed being there when Danny awoke.

Dr. Sylva continued, "His condition was upgraded about an hour ago."

Steve nodded. "Good. That's good news."

"Yes, it is. Now he'll probably experience some significant pain when he wakes up. That's expected, but we'll keep on top of that with a regimen of analgesics. And of course, he's going to remain on antibiotics awhile. He really is doing well… little iffy there at first but I'm very pleased with the progress he's made in such a short time." The doctor wanted to reassure Steve once again. "I think we can get him out of ICU and into a regular room today. We'll see how it goes after he wakes up. It's a little early for visitors, but… it's okay. Go on in. I'll clear it with the nurses."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Steve quietly entered the room and sat in the chair that was provided. He watched his partner breathe. He was going to be okay.

With only the rhythmic, monotone sounds of the machines, he took advantage of this lull. His mind couldn't help but drift to his meeting the night before. He replayed the exchange over and over in his head until after approximately half an hour, his musings were interrupted when he heard the difference in the heart monitor. He stood and returned his full attention to his partner. It was then that he thought he saw movement behind his eyelids. Yes, he was right. Danny's eyes started to flutter. He was waking up.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Danny heard the beeping noise first and immediately after, felt the pain. It was dull but it was there. A clean, antiseptic smell replaced the pervasive dusty, stale odor he had come to be familiar with recently. He could see light on the other side of his eyelids and he was lying on a comfortable mattress, not a cot. He felt crisp cotton, not scratchy wool as his covering. Hospital.

The nightmare came back to him piecemeal: car wreck, being taken, handcuffs, stun gun, escape attempt, getting a phone and talking to... Steve. The rest of the remnants on the memory path he was following stopped abruptly but temporarily. His mind skipped forward. He remembered Steve had been there. He had been physically present at the exchange. His heart missed a beat as he recalled the fear, fear that his friend had also been in danger in the presence of the thugs that had taken him… had hurt him.

That beeping noise just sounded different.

Steve had been there. He had heard his voice before he blacked out. He had been calling to him, begging him to stay with him. That's all he remembered. He knew he was safe now. He felt it. He knew he was in a hospital and… he knew his friend would be nearby. He tried to open his eyes.

Steve watched as Danny became aware of his surroundings. There they were. Those blue eyes were mere slits and more muted than usual, but definitely visible… a beautiful sight. Steve instinctively laid his hand on his exposed arm, needing the contact as Danny mentally caught up.

The desire to alleviate the pain trumped the comfort Steve's touch gave. He let out a moan and lifted his arm toward his pounding head. Steve moved his hand out of the way, allowing him the leeway he needed. Danny would have used his dominant right arm but he felt the soreness in his shoulder. His attention was deflected from his headache, though, when he felt the oxygen mask. That had to come off so he pulled it down.

"Hey buddy, what are you doing?" Steve reached to replace the mask but Danny pushed his hand away. Steve relented… for now. He pushed the nurses call button and asked, "How're you feeling?"

Danny was flooded by relief at seeing his partner. A contentment and peace washed over him… foreign feelings that he didn't know he would experience again. He mumbled, "Like I've been stampeded by elephants."

Steve smiled. "You look like it, too."

Danny didn't have the energy to retort. He got serious, "You okay?"

"Yeah, man, never better."

"The kids?"

"They're fine, Danny. They'll be here to see you when you're up to it." Steve anticipated his next question, "Chin, Kono, Lou… we're all okay. We're just glad to have you back with us. You had us worried."

"Not my fault."

"Sorry, I didn't mean…" Steve's face changed. The worry was evident.

Danny saw it. He was walking on eggshells around Danny's perceived fragile status. He attempted to let him off the hook and weakly smiled. "Gotcha." The crease on Steve's brow faded as he absorbed the lighthearted remark.

No words were spoken for a time. Steve observed Danny. His hand had made it to his head and he was rubbing his forehead now in an attempt to ease the throbbing. Steve believed he was catching up on filling in the blanks of his memory. Even with that, the tension that he woke up with seemed to be easing. Steve believed the reassurances of his loved ones' safety was the catalyst.

Finally, Danny spoke again. "Did you get 'em?"

Steve had hoped this wouldn't come up so soon. "Not King. He and one of his men got away. But we got the rest of them."

Danny laid his arm back on the bed and sighed. He turned away from Steve.

Steve felt that he had let his friend down.

The nurse came in at that time and Steve backed away so she could have room to work. He watched as she checked Danny's vitals first. She then moved on to check the IV bags and pressed some buttons on the infusion pump. She attempted to replace the oxygen mask but Steve intervened on Danny's behalf, "Uh, could you leave it off for now… until the doctor comes?" He had a hopeful, pleading look to his eyes.

She checked his saturation levels once again and hesitated, then smiled and nodded. After one last tuck of the covers, she reassured Steve as she left. "He's doing well. I'll call the doctor and let him know he's awake. He should be here very soon."

Steve returned the smile. "Thank you."

Both men had more questions for each other but they knew it wasn't the right time. That would come later.

Danny was moved out of ICU later that morning. With Dr. Sylva's approval, the oxygen mask was now gone, replaced with the less offensive nasal cannula. Most of the monitors and machines had followed him there but the doctor felt he had progressed enough to be moved, and it would be more conducive to the visitors he knew were inevitable. Danny slept most of those first few hours after he had regained consciousness. Steve had stayed with him the whole time.

During one of the periods when Danny was awake, Steve received a call from Kono. "Good morning, boss. Have you heard from Danny?"

"Yeah, I'm here now. He's awake and doing well. He just got settled into a regular room."

She wasn't surprised that Steve was already there. "That's great news. Chin and I are on our way in, but hey, there's something I need to tell you. We've got some new intel you're going to be interested in."

Steve looked over at Danny who was watching him as he was speaking to Kono. He appeared to be drifting back to sleep.

"Okay, Kono, I'll talk to you when you get here. I know someone else who will be glad to see you, too." He smiled at Danny. Steve chose to not have that conversation in front of Danny in case it was about King. They would be there soon enough.

"What's that goofy smile for?" Danny sleepily mumbled after Steve hung up.

"Kono and Chin will be here soon."

"Are they bringing me something to eat? I'm starving."

That was a good sign and also the fact that he was trying to insult him was a good sign. "I don't know about that, but I can get you something if they don't. I'm sure the cafeteria…"

"Don't… even say it." Danny stopped him. "I want real food, not hospital food as my first meal back."

"That is real food, Danny, and nutritious."

"Says you," Danny stated his aversion, not convinced.

"Well, we probably need to check with your doctor first anyway." Steve had barely gotten that out when he saw Danny's eyes had closed. He sat down and waited for Chin and Kono to arrive while Danny slept.

Danny heard Steve greet Kono and Chin when they came into his room. He roused, eager to see his friends. "Hey guys."

"Hey, Danny. Good to see you, man." Chin came over and patted his good shoulder.

Kono took Chin's spot beside Danny and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Good to have you back. We missed you."

"Good to be back. So... you're not mad about the car?"

"Come on, Danny. Cars can be fixed... but... it will be awhile before I let you borrow it again." She gave him a big smile and lovingly squeezed his arm. "Hey, I brought you something." She held up a bag of malasadas. Steve narrowed his eyes in disapproval at Chin, but Chin just shrugged in resignation.

"Real food." Danny grinned in anticipation.

"Un-uh." Steve grabbed the bag. "Not until we check with the doctor."

"Party pooper. You know you're not right, don't you? You need help." Even wiped out, Danny couldn't help the throaty taunt.

"What?" acting genuinely confused, but loving the hint of the return of Danny's spirit.

"You know what I mean, you control freak."

He was done. Steve knew it. Any other time, that would have been just the beginning of a more elaborate tirade, but he was tired and drugged and off his game. He had merely ended his mini-rant with an almost imperceptible eyeroll. He'd take it.

"Chin, can you keep Danny company a minute? I need to talk to Kono."

"Of course."

Danny was glad to visit with Chin but watching as Kono and his partner left, he knew they were leaving for privacy to discuss something they didn't want him to hear. Control freak.

Steve and Kono stepped outside and away from the door. "So, what do we have? Please tell me it's King."

"Yep, well, sort of. You're not going to believe this. Remember Percy?"

"Percy? Devin Percy? What's he got to do with this?"

"He gave up Sebastian King as one of his protégés. He's trying to work a deal."

"I thought we cleaned 'em all out."

"Guess not. Turns out the two of them go way back. Now Percy says he's got some information that may help us."

Hands on his hips, Steve looked away from Kono for a few seconds to absorb what he heard. "Okay… alright… I'm going to go talk to him."

He went back in Danny's room. Kono followed him. "Danny, I'm gonna cut out for a while," thumb pointing back toward the door. "Will you be alright for a bit?"

"Yes, Steven, I'll be alright. This is a hospital."

Chin added, "We'll stay… if it's okay with Danny."

"Sure, Chin. I'd like that. Everything okay, babe?" Danny now directed his question to Steve trying to intimate that he knew something was up.

"Yeah, yeah, I just gotta… well I just need to go see someone. I'll be back soon." Steve left abruptly. Once again Danny knew it wasn't as simple as that, but he didn't feel like arguing.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Lou had joined Chin and Kono at the hospital. They spent time alternating between talking with Danny and waiting while he slept. Every now and then, when he was awake, Danny would glance to the door, wondering where his partner was and what he was doing.

The orderly brought in a tray. Chin elevated Danny's bed as he was dying to eat but to his dismay, the orderly said he was only allowed broth and Jell-O.

"You've got to be kidding me." Danny spoke under his breath to no one in particular as he snarled his nose at what was set before him.

And much to his chagrin, since he didn't get to eat his malasadas, his visitors happily took care of those.

Lou grinned a sheepish smile as he finished off his. "We wouldn't want you to be tempted now, would we? Plus, McGarrett would have our hides."

Danny sneered at Lou. He then noticed Chin had gotten a text and subsequent serious face while reading it. Chin looked up and glanced at Kono and then Lou before standing and approaching Danny's bedside. Danny could tell he was putting on a smile for his benefit.

"What's going on, Chin?"

"Nothing, brah. I think Steve's working on a surprise for you."

Danny didn't press for more but he knew Chin was not telling him everything. The master manipulator on the other side of that text was at it again.

Not long after, Steve leaned into the room hanging onto the doorframe. "Are you awake?" At seeing he was, he stepped away from the door and Grace and Charlie entered. Danny's face lit up.

"Danno!" they both shouted in unison and ran to their dad.

"Hey, Monkey, and how's my little man?" His voice was still weak but definitely brighter in tone than it had been.

Steve had warned the kids in advance of their dad's appearance and to be careful with their hugs. They seemed oblivious to the bruising and cuts. They were just glad to see Danno and he was even more glad to see them.

Steve and the team took in the scene and their spirits were uplifted. The reaction had confirmed to him that this was just what Danny needed. He was glad Rachel cooperated and that he was able to make the reunion come together.

After a bit, Steve asked, "Uh, Danny, if it's okay, we were going to leave for a little while." Steve's hand was moving, gesturing to include each member of the team. "Grace and Charlie said they would stay until we get back. How would you like that?"

Danny knew he was being handled but he did like the idea of spending time with his kids… finally. "Sure, yeah, you all go on and have your fun. I'm not going anywhere." You think I'm an idiot don't you. That's what he wanted to say but didn't because of his kids' presence. He gave a one-armed squeeze to Charlie who was now beside him on the bed.

"K, well, we'll see you later," Steve said hastily.

Danny gave him mental kudos. Steve had known what he was doing. If Charlie and Grace hadn't been there, he would have been in for the best rant a beaten up, stabbed, gunshot, but mostly stubborn Jersey cop could bring.

The team left Danny with his kids and they gathered in the parking lot so Steve could go over what he had learned.

_~to be continued~_

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	14. Chapter 14

Sebastian King had taken a hit, courtesy of the same elite task force he had coerced into procuring his latest investment instrument. Despite that, the capital gain far surpassed the loss… or it was about to. More than the regrettable loss of loyal manpower and a small piece of real estate, the most unfavorable outcome, even if it was minor, was that King was relegated to moving his base of operations once again. Even with his aversion to the sand and surf and his preference for the business attire that was rarely seen on the island, he had come to revere the popular vacation locale and was disappointed at the necessity of leaving.

However, the last week _had_ proven to be entertaining to King and he regarded it as a fitting farewell sendoff. In addition to the anticipated payoff, it had been fun toying with his counterpart on Hawaii's elite law enforcement task force. His interaction with Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett had made for an enjoyable distraction to his normal mundane business dealings.

The team that the Commander had established, and especially his relationship with his partner, had an unexpected dynamic that had intrigued him. Detective William's unfortunate demise was supposed to have been one of the byproducts of his endgame, but since his men had failed at that, King had found amusement in keeping up with the detective's convalescence. He had maintained a tangential observation of the group, offering a welcome diversion from planning his pending withdrawal.

Sebastian King now strode confidently through the hotel lobby. Ben Jacobs walked slightly behind and to his left. King once again had his hands nestled in his pockets, so Jacobs was carrying the briefcase. The roar of the airplanes that were taking off and landing nearby at the Honolulu International Airport could be heard every few minutes. King had an appointment with Erik Stepanov, the Russian that was going to make the payoff and relieve him of his possession of the stolen diamonds and gems. This would be their last meeting before leaving the islands and heading to the mainland, so this hotel proved to be an expedient choice of location.

After entering the lounge, they briefly paused to ask the hostess if Stepanov had already arrived. With a friendly smile, she nodded, "Yes, he is here. In the last booth on the right." She turned and gestured to the table she was speaking of, but then offered, "Follow me. I can show you to the table."

King raised his hand to stop her. "That's okay. Thank you, though."

Jacobs handed the briefcase to King, then took a seat at one of the first barstools, close to the front of the lounge. His attention was on their surroundings. The lounge was in the back corner of the hotel and one wall was practically all-glass doors leading to the patio area outside. Most of the doors were open and the breeze from the warm, humid air was making the sheers along the door frames blow. At this time of day, the lounge was pretty much empty. Besides the hostess and Stepanov, he only saw the bartender who was drying glasses behind the bar and one other couple at a table enjoying each other's company and mid-afternoon drinks.

King walked in Stepanov's direction, past the bar that was to his left. His attention was solely on Stepanov. He could see the dark-haired man facing the far wall. He was ready to get this over with and be on his way.

"Good afternoon," King greeted as he passed Stepanov to take a seat on the far side of the table, glad to have the seat overlooking the rest of the lounge. He slid the briefcase in beside him as he sat down. As soon as he was seated, he realized his error. He was looking into the face of Steve McGarrett.

He contemplated his options, but his ego made the choice for him. "Commander McGarrett? Very nice to see you again," he stated sarcastically and displayed that smug smile. His eyes darted to Jacobs.

Jacobs immediately saw his boss's unusual reaction and started to advance toward him but was halted by the bartender's grasp of his arm. He looked back over his shoulder, irritated at the interruption.

"Un-uh, do not make a move, little man." Captain Lou Grover, posing as the bartender, had pulled his gun out from under the bar and was now pointing it in Jacobs' direction. He tapped the top of the bar with his free hand. "Come on, let's have it." Jacobs pulled out his firearm and slowly laid it on the bar then lifted his arms in surrender. Lou quickly took possession of the gun and then took Jacobs into custody.

Steve did not need to look back to know Lou had control of the situation. He maintained eye contact with King and calmly responded, "I told you we would meet again."

King saw he was on his own. Captain Grover had removed his newly instituted right-hand man from the bar. He turned back to face Steve. Though more subdued than before, King stubbornly continued to display his smirk.

Without a verbal rebuttal from King, Steve continued with a low, slow growl, "You know I would love to rip you into a thousand pieces right now." Steve's jaw was clinched and he struggled to refrain from doing just that.

"Hmm, seems like I heard something very similar from your partner a few days back. You two must have a lot in common. Tell me… how _is_ Detective Williams?"

"You don't get to say his name, you bastard." Steve could feel the pace of his heartbeats increase.

"I heard he's still alive… and doing well." King knew his knowledge of his partner's condition would push just the right buttons.

"Shut up!" Broadsided by the revelation of King's intimate knowledge, Steve breathed in deeply. The perspiration on his brow was beginning to bead.

King pursed his lips and nodded, his genuine gratification displayed.

Steve took another deep, calming breath, folded his hands on the table in front of him, and leaned on his forearms getting closer to King. He changed the subject, knowing the path of this current conversation could quickly escalate into an unintended physical altercation otherwise. "I'm assuming you brought the diamonds. I'm going to be needing those back."

King didn't make a move to hand over the briefcase. Instead he asked, "Just curious, how _did_ you find me?"

"Devin Percy… I think you know him? He gave up your buyer to make a deal. It didn't take much for Stepanov to give us what we needed." King blinked and Steve saw a hint of a crack in that concrete façade, giving Steve immense pleasure.

"You know my people resources have been dwindling lately. My offer is still open. You and your team could be compensated well beyond your current salary… well beyond anything you could imagine." He knew it was a futile last-ditch effort.

Steve huffed and added sardonic laughter under his breath. "Surely, you are not serious right now. After what you did… you're lucky you're still taking air into your lungs. I tell you what… why don't you look me up when you get out of prison, wait... I won't be around. I figure you'll be well over 200 years old when that happens."

"Well, a man has to try." King lifted the briefcase onto the table. He pointed downward as if getting permission, "I'm just going to get the key." Steve sat back and tilted his head to the side. His newly relaxed posture giving his nonverbal acceptance of King's intentions. Steve didn't move otherwise. He kept his hands folded on the table, even as King leaned down toward his shoes and pulled his .380 out of his ankle holster.

"I don't think so." The soft, steady voice of Chin drew King's attention to his right. The man that had been having a drink with his girlfriend was standing by his side now, holding a gun on him. The girl mirrored him to his side. It took a moment, but King recognized the pair as Lieutenant Kelly and Officer Kalakaua of the Five-0 team. He looked back at Steve and shrugged his shoulders in surrender. Steve had never moved, trusting his team implicitly. He gave King what Danny would call a "goofy" smile and raised his eyebrows relishing in his own smugness this time.

While Chin cuffed and took him into custody, King was face to face with Kono and goaded, "Officer Kalakaua, I'm sorry I didn't get the pleasure of making your acquaintance sooner, as was my original intention."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too… sorry that you didn't get to make the acquaintance of my SR-25 like your men did."

Chin had paused, allowing Kono her moment, and smiled with pride at her response. Before being walked out, King had to get in his last words to his nemesis, "Until next time… and hope you don't get in _too_ much trouble." He smiled and nodded his head toward the briefcase. Chin started to lead him away when King stopped and turned back to Steve. "Oh, and uh, say hello to your partner for me." This time, Chin pushed him causing him to stumble toward the HPD officers that were waiting in the lobby.

Steve followed the officers out and watched as they protected King's head as they loaded him into the back of a cruiser. One final glare was shared between the men. Chin, Kono, and Lou joined their unusually quiet and distant boss as the car pulled away. The sun was getting low and they were looking forward to getting back to the hospital.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Later that evening, Steve and the others arrived back at Danny's hospital room. Steve, Kono, and Lou went on in. Chin took a moment to dismiss the security detail stationed outside the room. Danny was asleep. Rachel had taken Grace and Charlie home a couple of hours before. If it hadn't been for the news they were eager to share with Danny, they would probably have left him to rest… except for Steve. He had been away too long and was feeling guilty about not spending more time with Danny during these early hours of his recovery. He was planning on staying at the hospital that night with his friend.

"Should we wake him?" Kono quietly questioned the others.

"I don't know, he looks pretty much out of it." Lou whispered his assessment.

"Well, we've got to give him the news. I think we should wake him." Chin let his opinion be known.

"You don't have to. How can anybody sleep with all this noise going on in here?" Danny began talking before opening his eyes. He raised his hand and rubbed his eyes. "Hey, guys. What's going on?"

Chin smiled at Steve and waved him in Danny's direction as an invitation to get nearer to his partner so he could be the one to make the report.

Steve got closer to Danny's bedside. "Did you have a good visit with Grace and Charlie?"

"Yes… yes, Steven, I enjoyed visiting with my children that I haven't seen in what seems like a decade. Grace is getting married and wants me to walk her down the aisle and Charlie's getting his driver's license next week." Chin and Kono shared a grin and Lou smiled and hung his head and shook it side to side, glad to hear the spunk was back. "I, somehow, don't think you're here to ask about my visit with the munchkins." Danny was genuinely annoyed. He wanted to hear where his team had been for the last few hours. He tried to prop himself up on his elbow and winced from the pain as his body objected.

"Hang on there, buddy. Let us help you." Steve offered.

Kono was already on it, pressing the button on her side to raise his head up to a more comfortable position. "There, that's better."

"Thanks, sweetheart." Danny looked to Kono then turned back toward Steve. "So… I'm waiting..."

"We got him, Danno." Steve was matter-of-fact as if telling him what he had eaten for lunch. He paused to let Danny take it in. "We took Sebastian King and his accomplice, Ben Jacobs, into custody this afternoon. Got the diamonds back, too."

Steve could visibly see some of the tension Danny had been holding in evaporate. He appeared to be more at peace… more Danny. That was the outcome Steve was hoping for.

Just as Steve observed the change in his partner, his team observed the same in him.

Although happy for today's outcome, Lou, Chin, and Kono were holding in some unresolved feelings. There was one more hurdle left in front of them… the one, unspoken shadow cast on the moment. Steve seemed unmindful of it. He was just relieved to have Danny on the road to recovery, physically and mentally, King behind bars, and his team back together again.

_~to be continued~_

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	15. Chapter 15

Steve pulled his truck into Danny's driveway. Danny reached with his left arm across to the door handle.

"Wait, I'll get that," Steve offered. He jumped out and ran around to open the door for Danny. Danny rolled his eyes.

Danny's right arm was immobilized in a sling to aid in the healing of his shoulder. His abdomen was still tender and stitches were still in place. The bruising had begun to change color, a greenish yellow now instead of the dark purple and that it had been days before.

After being released from the hospital, Danny had insisted that he go to his own home to recover. Steve reluctantly agreed, with the condition that he be allowed to stay over the first night and then after that, Grace was going to stay to help for a while. Danny thought all the fuss over him was silly, but he had to admit having his family and friends around him seemed to make him feel better. He also inwardly conceded that he would be the same way if the roles were reversed. He would never let Steve know that though.

Danny waited on the sidewalk as Steve went to get his things from the back of the truck. Once inside, Danny eased down onto his sofa. He was glad to finally be back home. Steve dropped the bag by the door to leave for now. He went to the kitchen briefly and came back with a couple of bottles of water. He handed Danny one of the bottles and sat on the coffee table across from Danny.

"Comfy?"

"What? Yeah, yeah I'm good." Steve came across as distracted.

"Well, just wanted to make sure the table meets your standards even though I have perfectly good furniture actually designed for sitting… and you're gonna leave cheek prints."

Steve didn't come back at Danny with a smart aleck remark. He rested his elbows on his knees and turned to look at the adjacent wall.

"Really? Nothing? Okay, let's have it." Danny couldn't stand it any longer.

Turning back toward Danny, Steve responded, "What? . . . What are you talking about?"

"You said a total of four words the whole way here… four… and those were directed at your fellow drivers that you were supposed to be sharing the road with. Tell me what's going on in that hard-headed brain of yours."

Steve paused a moment to decide if he wanted to proceed. Danny was his best friend and he wanted to confide in him but he also didn't want to cause him any undue stress. He decided to ease into the uncomfortable topic and feel it out as he went. "I was just wondering how you felt about your future with Five-0."

"What, you're firing me now?"

"No… what? No, Danny, of course not. I was just… do you feel settled… are you in for the long haul?" Danny narrowed his eyes with a puzzled look, but Steve continued. "What if I weren't around? Would you be good with taking over and keeping it going?"

Danny put his hand over his stitches and leaned forward, wincing at the pain the movement caused. He set the unopened bottle of water on the table beside Steve. Abandoning the sarcasm, he broke out a rare exhibition of seriousness, "Steve, what is this about?"

Steve's phone rang breaking the tension, exasperation evident on Danny's face. Steve looked at the ID and stood up. "Sorry, Danny, I've got to take this." He walked away but not far enough that Danny couldn't overhear.

"Governor… sure, no problem… All of us? Are you sure?... Okay, of course, see you then." He hung up and turned back toward Danny.

"Steve?"

"Uh, Governor Mahoe wants to meet with Five-0 tomorrow at the Palace." Steve seemed more distracted than before.

"Come on, would ya? What the hell is going on?"

"You know what, I'm just tired. I was talking off the top of my head earlier. Just ignore me." Steve clapped his hands once, then holding them in front of him, continued, "Hey, I bet you're starving. How 'bout I fix us something to eat… if you have anything worthwhile in your kitchen to fix, that is." Steve quickly escaped to the kitchen.

Danny didn't feel like chasing after him, physically or mentally. He had almost gotten whiplash over Steve's mood swing he knew to be disingenuous. He would let it drop for now but this wasn't over.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Steve pulled into the parking lot at The Palace and turned off the truck. "Look, Danny, are you sure you're okay being here? You should be home resting."

"Steven, am I not part of Five-0, too? If the governor is meeting with the team, I should be there. I'm good. You can take me home afterward if it makes you feel better."

"I just don't want you to overdo it."

"Are you sure that's what it is? It wouldn't have anything to do with the conversation you started yesterday, would it? I'm not an idiot you know. That's you, remember?"

"Let's just go… let's just get this over with."

"Mm…hmm. That's what I thought." His words were lost on Steve as he was already out of the truck heading to the passenger side to open Danny's door. Steve's anxiousness confirmed Danny's suspicions.

Once inside, the team was enjoying the "normal" time they were getting to spend together. Steve was being reserved but he was trying to participate. He was the first to see the governor approach the glass doors, security detail in tow. Before she entered, he saw her turn to the two men and say something. They nodded and turned and stood on each side facing away from the door. Governor Mahoe entered by herself.

Danny made a move to stand to join the others that were gathered around the smart table.

The governor raised her hand to stop him, "Please, Detective, stay seated. This won't take long. I'm glad to see you're doing better. I'm sorry you had to go through your ordeal."

"Thank you, but I don't think you're here to discuss my health. Can we get on to what this is all about?" Danny was his bold self and irritated over his partner's mood.

Steve turned his eyes toward Danny without turning his head and Kono raised her brow in reaction to his statement, wondering if there would be a verbal reprimand. There wasn't.

The governor didn't take offense. "Of course, I just wanted to personally thank your team for bringing about the capture of Sebastian King and his organization."

Danny continued, waving his hand in the air for emphasis, "Well, that's what this team does and we don't normally get a personal visit from you."

"You're right, Detective. There is more."

Steve clinched his jaw and folded his arms over his chest and looked down at the floor. Danny noticed.

The governor spoke to the entire team but looked at Danny since he was the one making the inquiries over her visit. "A little over a week ago, the night you were taken to the hospital, I had a visitor at my residence… Commander McGarrett. It was much later than I normally accept visitors but he was adamant, so I agreed to see him." She glanced at Steve and then back to Danny. Danny had followed her gaze to Steve and saw how uncomfortable he appeared to be.

"The Honolulu Police Department had been working two cases separately, your kidnapping and the Metropolitan jewel heist. HPD headed up the theft because, of course, your team had taken the lead working on your disappearance. King had made his demands to your team but HPD was not made aware of that intel, so even though the museum had come into play with your case, they didn't believe the theft to be related. Your commander came to me that night and confessed that even though the entire team knew of the demands, he acted alone in breaking into the museum and taking the precious stones to use as the ransom to get you back. He said the rest of the team was oblivious to the theft but they had been instrumental in the take down operation believing the commander was using simulants in the trade. Before any more assumptions were made about your team, Commander McGarrett wanted to make this an open and shut case. He wanted to take the fall to protect this unit from any suspicion and avoid any unnecessary, distracting investigation."

Steve was still staring at the floor as Chin, Kono, and Lou stared at him in amazement. Danny, not surprised by what he was hearing, continued to keep his attention on the governor.

"He told me that if I would allow it, he wanted the chance to get the jewels back and take down the group that did this before he turned himself in. I told him I would have to think about what he had told me, but that I wanted him to continue to work the case until I had made a final decision. I would get back with him when I did."

Chin started, "Governor, you know… "

"Chin, don't!" Steve interrupted and gave a stern stare in Chin's direction.

Governor Mahoe continued, now looking in Chin's direction, "Yes, Lieutenant, you don't have to go on. I know."

She knew. He had failed in protecting his ohana. Steve let out a sigh and pressed his lips together in anticipation.

"I know… that at 14 hundred hours, Munich time, an unknown courier delivered a plain package to the Bavarian National Museum. All of the missing diamonds and gems that were stolen from the Metropolitan were in that package. The German museum was next on the itinerary for the traveling exhibit." She took a moment to look at each team member. "With the lack of evidence and no true leads and now no missing diamonds, the HPD is closing the case."

The team looked at each other.

"The state of Hawaii owes this team a debt of gratitude. The immunity and means has been worth the results. I'm sure that you will continue the fine work as always. And like I said, Detective, I am glad you're doing better. I know you'll take it easy for now and be back at it as soon as your doctor gives the okay. In the meantime, Commander, you'll be a man down for a little while but I expect you'll make sure to take up the slack. Good job everyone. Keep it up."

She made direct eye contact with Steve for a long moment and he believed he saw a hint of a grin. She then turned and walked out the doors, her detail following behind her. Steve was certain she knew everything. She had implied as much with every word she did not say. He had gotten her decision and now she had just given him, and the team, a pass. There was silence for a minute or two. Steve let out a laugh under his breath, "Well… what do you think about that?"

Danny nonchalantly answered, "I think I'm ready go home now. You have tired me out and I have a date with my pillow." He stood and started in the direction of the door. "See you guys soon… Steven?"

"Uh, yeah… sure Danno, let's go." Steve quickly caught up with his partner who hadn't stopped to wait for him.

The stunned team was nothing but smiles as they left.

On the ride back, Steve was still quiet but this time it was a reflective silence. He was dumbfounded at how the meeting with the governor had gone. For Danny, this would not do.

"So… that's what all that nonsense was about. You were just gonna sacrifice yourself for the team?"

"I did what I had to do, Danny."

"What you 'had to do'? You need help, you know that?"

"Alright, I did what I thought was the right thing to do. It didn't make sense for the whole team to take the blame."

"Do you know what the word team even means? It means we're all in this together. We're accountable to each other and we depend on each other and we share responsibility and consequences when we mess up. It was bad enough that I couldn't be there when you took down that bastard. Now, you want to up and intentionally abandon us?"

"Hold it. That is not what I wanted…"

"It's what you 'thought was the right thing'. Yeah, yeah… I get it." Danny turned to look out his window. Nothing was said by either of them for a few minutes.

Steve gave in, "Sorry."

Danny responded in a much lower tone, "I would have done the same thing."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"No, say it again." Steve was tenacious.

"I would have done the same thing, alright?" He stole a glance over at his partner. There was a smug grin firmly etched across his face.

"I know."

"Oh, now you're a psychic. That's beautiful."

"Thank you."

"That's beautiful, not you're beautiful, you putz. . . and by the way, thank you."

Steve looked over at Danny between keeping his eyes on the road, truly puzzled this time. "For what?"

"I never thanked you for getting me out of there."

"Anytime, buddy… every time."

Enough said. Danny just nodded his contentment.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Two weeks later, Danny was starting his first day back doing desk duty. Steve came striding into the bullpen area with a big smile on his face and something in his hand. "Hey, guys, come here a minute." Lou and Chin walked out of Chin's office, Kono walked up holding a cup of coffee, and Danny came out of his office but leaned against his doorframe, entertained by his partner's smug smile.

"I just wanted to formally present the keys to your good-as-new repaired car, Kono."

With a big smile on her face, she held out her free hand to let him drop the keys. "Thanks, boss, it seems like it's been forever."

Steve gave her a hug. "No problem, sorry it took so long."

Danny waited a minute to see if Steve would turn his attention to him. Ladies first… of course. Steve turned toward Chin and Lou and started a conversation so he shifted his jaw and jutted out his lower lip. He let his arms fall from their folded place across his chest. He took a step away from the door toward Steve and the rest of the group. "Okay… let me get this straight." He turned to Kono and whispered, "I love you, sweetheart, and I hate what happened to your car." He turned back to Steve and raised his voice, his hands punctuating each statement, "…but from what I remember, you were going to get my car moved to the front of the line. I have not seen it in weeks. I haven't said anything because I haven't been able to drive anyway but don't you think this is a little ridiculous. I mean, I think her car was in worse shape than mine and she's already getting it back?"

"Danny."

"Since when…"

"Danny!"

"What?!" He abruptly stopped his rant.

Steve reached in his pocket and pulled out Danny's set of keys. "Good as new, Danno."

"You big goof, you've probably been driving it behind my back this whole time… figures."

The rest of the team were thoroughly entertained. They smiled as they took in the banter.

Back to normal, Steve thought. "I love you, buddy."

"I love you, too, babe." Back to normal, Danny thought.

The two shared a hug. Then Steve pulled away, for some reason recalling a repressed memory. "Cheek prints?"

_~The End~_

  _A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated._


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